YuGiOh Neo: Grand Tournament
by BloodWingdAngel
Summary: Sequel to my story, YuGiOh Neo. Yuga begins his junior year of Union Duel School, wishing for a normal year unlike his freshman year. However, with the announcement for a city wide tournament between all of Fortune City's dueling schools, things begin taking the strange route again, especially when the new mayor begins acting strange. NOTE: ON HIATUS UNTIL FARTHER NOTICE
1. Back to School

**So, believe it or not, this is my first official sequel story! I've never actually gotten far enough in any fan character story/stories to make a proper sequel, so this is a first for me! I** **f you haven't read my story called "YuGiOh Neo", please do before you read this one, as you will not understand this story unless you read that one!**

 **Quick notes, even though I am done with school, please continue to be mindful about that fact that I cannot update too frequently. I am currently job hunting and hope that I will find one soon. Finally** **, I made a picture of my YuGiOh OCs based on this story's designs... not drawn, I used a anime character creator, so they don't look exactly right... it can be found here:** **blackrose767 [period] deviantart [period] com/** **art/YuGiOh-OCs-683058427**

 **Just replace [period] with . and make sure there are no spaces**

 **Anyway, enjoy the beginning of this new story!**

* * *

The highway was very clear that morning, with barely any vehicles taking up space on the road. Those that were on the road at least had somewhat competent drivers, as there were no accidents to be accounted for that day, even with the shocking news that was currently blaring on the radio of almost every driver that was out then.

"Reports state that no sign of a struggle was present in the Mayor's office," a female reporter's voice stated. "With the disappearance of the Mayor, it is unknown who will succeed him."

"Previous Mayors would be succeeded by the vice-mayor," a male reporter said. "However, due to our Mayor being a former vice who stepped into place upon the death of Mayor Brown, who was in office for just under a month, there was no active vice-mayor to succeed him."

"Many believe that Supreme Judge Lennox, who has held his position for 31 years, is a very likely candidate to step into office in the place of the missing Mayor, filling as acting mayor for the time being until either the missing Mayor is found, or time is up and an official vote can be held," the female voice stated. "Voting by the Council of Fortune City will take place this afternoon."

"In other news, no sign still of former Union Duel School Professor, Thomas Himura," the male voice reported. "He disappeared a little more than two months ago from his cell on Prison Island. The wide spread man hunt for him still continues, but many declare he must have died in the rough sea during his escape, though there is no evidence that this is the case. Police state they will continue the search for a bit longer before deciding."

The man driving a tan car reached down and turned off the radio, sighing aloud. "As if I needed more bad news today. I swear I'm going to have a field day at work with this missing Mayor scandal." He brushed his white hair from his hazel eyes, refocusing on the road. "Supreme Judge Lennox, if he gets what he wants and becomes acting Mayor, it's only farther proof this city is dead."

"Sweetie, not in front of the kids," his wife, riding in the passenger seat of the car stated. She was combing her aqua green hair, her blue eyes focused on the mirror inside the car visor. She adjusted her black dress, attempting to make sure there was no wrinkles in it, before looking over at her husband. "Sweetie, your tie is off." She then reached over, adjusting the black tie of his tuxedo.

"Thanks, dear," the man sighed, looking into the car mirror into the back seat. "Sorry, kids."

Sitting in the back of the car was Roku and Ruka Nagai, each one carrying a bag on their lap. Roku's white hair was neatly combed, his blue eyes focused on his father from the right-side seat, his white long sleeved colored top was open slightly, revealing a dark blue undershirt. His bag shifted in his lap, wrinkling his white pants. "You don't like Lennox, dad?"

"Hun, please," Mrs. Nagai said.

"It's all right, dear," Mr. Nagai replied. "No, I'm not really a fan of him."

"Why not?" asked Ruka, looking at her father with her hazel eyes, brushing her aqua green hair out of her face, leaning forward and holding her back closer to her no-sleeved light blue shirt, which dragged across her black pants. She tapped her blue shoes on the car floor in anticipation.

"Well," Mr. Nagai thought to himself for a moment. "The man seems to control almost everything now-a-days. He's got Lockwood, the Pro Dueling Manager, in his back pocket, always wants to get involved with the school's business, and even seems to get exactly what he wants out of his court systems. I wouldn't be surprised if he was behind this as well to get a chance at being Mayor himself."

"Please," Mrs. Nagai snapped, a stern look etched on her face. "We don't need the kids believing conspiracy theories."

Roku and Ruka looked at one another, bracing themselves for another one of their parents fighting, but Mr. Nagai sighed. "You're right, darling. Ignore your old man, kids."

"Dad, why don't you try for Mayor?" Roku asked.

"Well, sport, I don't think I got the experience in politics for that," Mr. Nagai said with a sad smile. "I would… but they won't vote for me… anyway, we're at Union kids." The tan car pulled in front of the gates to Union, the hazard lights of the vehicle flashing at it stopped behind another car unloading their children. Mr. Nagai turned in his seat to face his two kids, a serious look on his face. "Be careful, ok? I don't want you two involved in something again that we don't know about."

Ruka turned to her brother with a sheepish grin, remembering the Himura incident. Roku just smirked at his father, "Don't worry, dad, we won't."

"If something happens, call us right away," Mr. Nagai stated.

"We will," Ruka replied, anxious to get out of the car.

"Oh, Ruka," Mrs. Nagai turned to her daughter, a sly smirk on her face. "That reminds me… this Yuga lad that you were talking about, when are we going to meet him?"

"Yes, I am quite curious to meet him as well," Mr. Nagai stated. "Your boyfriend does sound like an interesting young man."

Roku began chuckling, while Ruka blushed a shade of red, "H-he's not my boyfriend!"

"Is that right?" Mrs. Nagai said, sounding shocked. "My oh my, but you talked about him so frequently that I thought for sure that you two were-"

"Heywegottagobye," Ruka quickly said, opening the door and stepping out of the car, taking another bag from the trunk. "I'll call you later!"

"Oh my, I think we embarrassed her," Mr. Nagai chucked, looking at Roku. "Watch over your sister and call me later, ok?"

"Alright, dad," Roku said, stepping out of the car with his bag in hand, taking the final bag in the trunk before closing it. "Have a good day at work, dad. You too, mom!"

"Bye kids," they said in unison, waving as they drove off.

"Ugh, they are so embarrassing," Ruka snapped, storming into main campus with Roku following close behind her, rolling his suitcase. "I swear, Yuga will never meet them if I can help that!"

Well, you did talk about him all summer," Roku pointed out, earning himself a glare from his sister. "Hey, I'm just saying."

"Ruka, Roku!" someone suddenly shouted. Ruka looked over to see Naomi and Asami, both of them with luggage of their own. Naomi was waving, her purple short sleeved shirt blowing in the wind, the same wind threatening to blow up her red skirt. She also wore black leggings and red shoes, and had shoulder length blonde hair and piercing light blue eyes. Standing at her side was Asami, her curly, long blue hair blowing in front of her brown eyes, which she constantly had to uncover with her hand, ruffling her leather jacket. A white no sleeved shirt was underneath it, cut off at the navel. She also wore leather pants and black boots. New to her assemble was a black and white pearl necklace, as well as pink lipstick.

"Finally," Naomi declared, hugging Ruka. "It's been too long since we last saw each other!"

"My parents really wanted to invite you to their summer home, but we couldn't find the time," Ruka explained, returning the hug.

"Aww, that would've been fun," Asami whined, looking over at Roku flirtingly. "I could've seen you in a swimsuit."

"Knock it off," Roku muttered. "Anyone else here yet?"

"Since we need to get our room assignments, we might as well just head there," Naomi said, pointing towards the main building. "Oh man, I hope we got it!"

"Got it?" Roku asked, looking at the girls confused.

"Oh, we requested an apartment dorm," Asami explained, grinning. "These girls wanna spread out and relax more, ya know."

"How ironic," Roku said, grinning. "As it just so happens, I did the same at the end last semester."

"Well, let's see if we got it," Ruka anxiously declared. The group of four headed off into the main building, where many returning Juniors and Seniors noticed them, waving at the face of their familiar peers. None of the freshman were here, as they came in the next day because they needed orientation and other sorts of activities that Ruka barely remembered competing in when she first came to Union. The gym had all the teachers in it, and a ton of students. Roku and Ruka instantly spotted Takada, and upon seeing Roku and Ruka he smiled, waving them over.

"Good, you guys made it." Takada said, grinning. "I managed to pull some strings since you guys saved Union and all… tada!" He held up some keys, each one with a label attached to it. "Managed to get you guys apartment complexes in Union's Park building. Apartment complexes 2a and 2b respectively… I'll trust that you two won't abuse the rules, after all it is still on campus."

"We won't sir," Roku said, taking the key before sighing. "Park, huh? Guess that means Vince is gonna be living with us too since it is four bed room?"

"Yes, but don't worry I already talked to him about minding himself," Takada said, before smiling. "But why are you worried about it, Roku? From what I understand you all seemed to bond with him during your time fighting the Shadow Duels?"

"That doesn't mean we like him," Ruka sighed, before suddenly realizing something. "Hold up… we're in Park too… who's our fourth roommate?"

"That is a secret," Takada chuckled. "She made me promise not to tell to surprise you, but I am sure you will be fine with the arrangements." They all looked at one another before shrugging, bidding Takada farewell and heading off.

"Park Apartments aren't that far from the original dorms," Roku explained. "In fact, I was able to see the building from my window. It looks very nice, and we get balconies outside of the living rooms, which is nice as well."

The walk over was filled with many more students waving at them, some of them even walking up and talking for a few moments before heading off. Ever since Yuga dueled Himura, the secret that they were defenders of the school had come out, turning them all into minor celebrities around the school. After many conversations, some of which were awkward as hell, they finally arrived at Park Apartments, and made their way up the stairs before reaching two doors, one right across from the other, with plate signs reading '2A' and '2B' on them respectfully.

"So, who's place should we check out first?" Naomi asked.

"I literally cannot wait to see who this mysterious roommate is," Asami declared, already putting her key into the lock, and opening the door. They stepped inside and immediately to the left was a kitchen, complete with all the necessary items needed in a typical kitchen, and a small living room father in, two chairs and a couch already included with a coffee table and a TV stand. To their immediate right was another door, which Ruka assumed lead to a laundry room. Two hallways jetted out in different directions, with three doors each, which Ruka knew was two bedrooms and a bathroom on each side.

"This is very nice," Asami grinned, looking around. "Good reward for saving the school and all!"

Suddenly, one of the bedroom doors on the right side opened up. "Hello?" came a voice, and a girl with pink hair tied up into two pigtails that draped over her shoulders stepped out. She was wearing a pink shirt that tied up in the front, yellow booty shorts and pink shoes. Her green eyes finally saw who was in the room, and a big grin came over her face. "Ruka, Naomi, Asami, Roku!"

"Tamiko!?" Ruka gasped in surprise, running forward and hugging the girl, the other girls following suit. "You're our roommate?!"

"Yeah, surprise!" Tamiko grinned, hugging each of them in turn. "I passed the entry exam, and managed to actually skip a year." She winked, grinning. "Knew enough that I am a junior, just like you guys!"

"Makes sense," Roku said. "You are our age, and are very skilled in dueling already."

"How's your mom?" Ruka asked, concern filling her voice. "Did she find a job?"

"Even better, she got Himura's old job," Tamiko said, grinning even wider. "She's gonna be the Advanced Summoning Teacher at Union from this day forward!"

"Congrats to her!" Naomi cheered. "Oh man, I wish we saw her in the Gym, but it was a mad house in there."

"I bet Yuga and the other guys will love to hear the good news," Ruka said, smiling warmly.

"Speaking of, let's put our stuff down and check out the boy's apartment," Naomi said, placing her luggage down. "Roku needs to put his stuff down as well."

"Good idea," Ruka said, putting her luggage down as well along with Asami. They left the apartment and with just a quick few steps, Roku unlocked the door to 2B and stepped inside, which was just like the girl's apartment but mirrored, with the kitchen on the right instead of the left. Also inside, however, they were greeted with a sight of two boys fighting over an object.

"Give me the damn chips," Vince growled, tugging on the bag. The spikey red haired teen had his coal eyes locked on his enemy, each tug of the chip bag wrinkling his black leather jacket and leather pants. His red undershirt was also showing, as the jacket was unzipped from the fighting.

"I bought these myself, you get your own," Shin yelled at him. He had short, blue hair and green eyes currently glaring at Vince. His yellow short sleeved shirt was very wrinkled and his red undershirt looked like it was going to tear. His blue jeans already had two tears in them on the knees, and his yellow shoes were scuffed.

"Perhaps this won't work as well as Takada thinks," Roku mumbled, sweat dropping.

"Vince, if he bought the chips, let him have them," Ruka shouted, glaring.

"Ruka!?" Vince instantly let go, sending Shin tumbling back. The redhead turned, blushing at the sight of the green haired girl. "Ah, Ruka, too long since we've last met. You are as stunning as ever, and I see you bought new clothes."

"I'm not going to be your girlfriend," Ruka declared. "Ever!"

"One date wouldn't hurt?" Vince pouted.

"H-hey, Naomi," Shin stuttered, blushing. "I-I hope you had a good summer."

"I did, thanks Shin," Naomi said, softly smiling at him.

"Hey, looks like you all made it," a voice behind them said. Ruka's eyes went wide as she turned around, finding herself face to face with a grinning purple haired teen. Yuga was wearing a red short sleeved open shirt with a black undershirt, blue jeans that looked worn with red shoes. His golden eyes were looking at everyone, and he was carrying a red bag.

"Yuga," Ruka whispered, before running forward and pulling him into a hug. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too," a blushing Yuga replied, returning Ruka's hug. "I'm glad to see we got the apartment though. I could do with a little more space here at Union."

"Best part?" Asami added, grinning. "We got the complex right across, so we won't be too far."

"That's great," Yuga replied. "Glad to hear that!"

"Yuga," Vince suddenly said, standing up. "Just because we are rooming together, doesn't mean things have changed between us. I still only consider you a rival and nothing more, and this year, I will defeat you!"

"Way to kill the mood," Ruka muttered, still in Yuga's arms.

Yuga, however, seemed more than thrilled at this, grinning at Vince, "Bring it on, Vince... but maybe we can be friends, please?"

"No!" Vince shouted, causing everyone to laugh in response. Ruka and Yuga parted the hug, smiling at one another. Despite spending two months apart and changing in some ways, the group still seemed to be unchanged, and honestly, they wouldn't have it any other way.

XxXxXxX

"I'm standing just outside Fortune City Hall where we have just received some shocking news," a female reporter, wearing a black outfit, which matched her black hair said, her grey eyes looking into the camera she was facing. "In response to the Mayor's disappearance, Supreme Judge Lennox had been voted as Acting Mayor! I have also received word that Lennox himself would like to address the public! Thousands have gathered outside of Fortune City Hall to hear this speech, so let's cut right to that, shall we!?"

Several men and women in suits and dresses stepped out of city hall, one of them being Mr. Nagai, who looked unpleased about these results. He stood behind a podium that was set up outside of the building just past where the steps to the hall ended, along with the others. A tall man, with slicked back hair, black and grey in color, stepped forwards towards the podium. He stroked his beard of the same color to make it neat, before reaching into his tuxedo jacket pocket and pulling out a notecard, as though he was ready to give a speech all along. He cleared his throat and began speaking in a deep, official sounding voice.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Fortune City," Lennox announced, looking out to the crowd, the speakers behind him amplifying his already powerful voice. "I, as acting mayor of this city, an honored that I was chosen to uphold this position until we have reached an official verdict on how the government of this city will procced from here." He paused for a few seconds, before continuing. "Fortune City has been my home since my father moved here when I was but a wee lad. My father moved us here to give us opportunities that he never had, and a chance at a better life for him and his family… but fate had different destiny in store for us. My father was assassinated when I was only three, and I was left to grow up in an orphanage that I will forever resent for the rest of my life. When I turned 18, fate shined upon me finally, and I was bestowed a chance to attend law school on a scholarship, and after graduating with high honors, I entered law enforcement and politics to make sure those that came here would never have it as hard as I did."

The crowd before him clapped, Lennox smiling and nodding in response, letting the applause die down before continuing. "I know better than anyone the hardships that life throws at those that dare venture forth, to raise their chins everyday despite life constantly trying to beat you down. The future of this city and its citizens have always depended on its leaders, but constantly we've been let down…" He paused, his words causing murmurs in the crowd which he ignored, before continuing. "The orphanage I was raised in is not government funded, giving children horrible starts as they grow up there! I've seen roads torn apart for years, schools defunded, and security fail to uphold peace. We pay taxes for a reason! Why are these issues still here!?" Applause greeted this, but he continued. "That is why, as acting mayor, I promise you that I will begin making the necessary steps towards change! Let he or she who take my place continue on the path towards a better future!"

 _He's lying,_ Mr. Nagai thought, looking at the thundering crowd that applause Lennox. _He's just getting on their good side so he can remain Mayor when he runs!_ However, with a heavy sigh, he pulled out a book and stepped forward, approaching Lennox. The man turned to him as he held out the book at waist level, and Lennox placed his right hand on the book, raising his left hand into the air.

"I, Damian Patrick Lennox, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution and laws of Fortune City, and all local ordinances, and that I will faithfully and impartially perform and discharge the duties of the office of mayor, according to the law and the best of my ability!"

"By article 92, section 13 of the official Fortune City Constitution," Mr. Nagai said in a forced voice, lowering the book and shaking the hand of the man before him. "I hereby appoint you… Mayor Lennox, Acting Mayor of Fortune City."


	2. An Eventful First Day

**Thanks to Phantom Knight21, Umbruhon, D3lph0xL0v3r, pokemonking0924, king of the lion, Draen and Ethan Kironus for reviewing Chapter 1. Glad to see this story is already getting phrase, and I hope it continues.  
**

 **Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, job hunting has been a pain and I have had a severe case of writters block over the past month when it comes to this story. Hopefully buckling down and actually getting this chapter done will cure me of that. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

"He's coming here!?"

"Mayor Lennox is coming to Union! Why?"

"What business could he have here?"

"Do you think it's got something to do with that rumor?"

Crowds of students were gathered all across Union Campus that morning, rushing to form in front of the campus gates instead of heading to class like they were supposed to. A tired Yuga was among them, yawning as he parted through the crowd before finally finding Ruka, one of the only students in the crowd to not look pleased.

"Wazz-goin on?" Yuga muttered sleepily.

"Didn't you hear?" Ruka asked, looking side ways at Yuga. "The new mayor is coming here for some reason."

"Why would he do that?" Yuga asked, finally waking up a little.

"Your guess is as good as ours," Roku muttered, looking a bit grim.

"There's his limo!" Tamiko shouted, pointing. Sure enough, rounding the street corner, surrounded by guards and police, was the official mayor limo, which stopped right outside of Union Duel School. Police stepped forth instantly, forcing the sea of students that had gathered to part the way and clear a path towards Union's main building. At once, the driver raced around to the side of the limo, stumbling a bit as he did, which earned the chuckles and giggles of many students watching. He then opened the door to the limo, and out stepped Lennox himself earning the gasps and stunned silence of all the students there. Lennox smiled, looking around at all the students gathered before him, before taking a few steps pasts the gates and stopping to speak.

"Thank you, ladies and gentleman, and those of unspecified genders, for welcoming me to Union Duel School," Lennox beamed at them all. "I do hope this meeting with your school will be one of great progress. Now, if you would excuse me." However, he only took but a few more steps forward before something caught his eye and he stopped, looking directly to his left at Yuga. "Ah, the hero of Union Duel School himself... Yuga Suzuki. It is a pleasure to meet you in person."

"T-the pleasure is all mine, sir," Yuga said, shaking the mayor's hand.

"Such politeness, and you hold yourself with such dignity," Lennox smiled. "You and I come from similar backgrounds, my friend. Did you know that orphanage you grew up in also was my home as well?"

"Really?" Yuga asked, remembering Lennox's speech when he was made acting mayor.

"Ah yes, such a dreadful place," Lennox sighed dramatically. "But it is my top priority to fix that mess, Yuga, just you wait." Before Yuga could say anything else, Lennox's eyes were already fixed on Ruka and Roku. "Ah, the son and daughter of Mr. Nagai... your father and I are going to be working together from now on, and I do hope to hear a lot about your studies as we do."

Ruka and Roku were speechless. They knew their father disliked Lennox a lot, so what do they say to a man who their father claimed that Lennox's raise to mayor would be a disaster to the city?

"And these must be all your other friends," Lennox beamed, looking around. "Shin, Vince, Naomi, Asami and Tamiko. Such a pleasure to meet the students who defended this school from evil."

"I believe that is enough," a voice said. Everyone turned to see Takada standing there, looking at Lennox with a suspicious look. "Mondo is waiting in his office, and I dare say your arrival couldn't be more poorly timed. These students should be in class!"

"Quite right you are," Lennox said, turning back to Yuga and shaking his hand again. "Until we meet again, Yuga, which might be very soon!" He turned sharply on his heel and began heading into the Main Campus building, with all the students watching after him. Until he was inside, the police didn't move from their spot, only moving to rush into the building once Lennox was completely inside.

"Well, to class!" Takada snapped, glaring as several students began racing around. "Do not disobey the officer orders and get to class on the double! You are all fifteen minutes late and I have half a mind to give you all detention!"

"Strict as ever I see," Yuga sighed. "Still, I can't believe that Lennox knew us!"

"Of course he knew us, Yuga," Ruka sighed. "It's his job to keep tabs on everything going on in the city. Hell even before becoming mayor he had a knack for knowing exactly what was occurring..."

"Let's go," Roku muttered, looking at Takada, who was watching them fiercely. "We can talk about it more during lunch."

XxXxXxX

"And that is how you perform a contact fusion," Hirose stated, looking around at his fusion class students. "Please review the material on Chapter 1 and expect to be quizzed on it by Friday. Dismissed." Several students groaned at the mention of quiz, but surprisingly, among the ones that didn't was Yuga, who only nodded and began gathering his things. "Yuga, please stay behind," Hirose said, watching as all the students left.

"Something wrong?" Yuga asked, looking confused.

"I saw you were speaking with Lennox this morning," Hirose stated, choosing his words carefully.

"Yeah, so what?" Yuga asked again.

Hirose looked grim, "Yuga, you need to be careful around him. Lennox isn't exactly the type of person I think you want to get involved with."

"He seems like a nice guy," Yuga shrugged.

"That is exactly it," Hirose sighed. "He knows how to get past people, to fool them into thinking that he is a great person when he is not in reality. The man is a master at manipulation, and that is how he rose to power. He was but a simple lawyer when he and I met, but before I knew it he somehow squirmed his way into the top rankings, becoming Supreme Judge as if overnight."

Yuga's face became serious, as if realizing the severity of Hirose's words. "So what you're telling me is that he rose to power in an effort to better himself?"

Hirose nodded. "He doesn't care about this city. He only looks to better his friends, and his own, wealth. Why do you think all of Lennox's friends get away with big scandals in their business practices?"

Yuga nodded. "Okay, I'll be careful, sir... but before I go, why do you think he came to Union?"

"I don't know," Hirose admitted. "But I guarantee you whatever he is planning is another one of his schemes."

Left to ponder those words, Yuga left the room, his brain working on overdrive. So far, his impressions on Lennox seemed to be that the guy was decent and a pretty good fellow, but if what Hirose and even Mr. Nagai thought about him were true, then perhaps Yuga was just another stepping stone in whatever Lennox was planning on doing with his new possition as temporary mayor of the city. Yuga almost wanted to shake off Hirose's warning to him and ignore it, trusting his gut, but a sudden realization brought that thought to a screeching halt.

Had Yuga not once trusted his gut feeling about Hirose before? He had thought that Hirose was the Masked Man, the guy who was after the Wicked God Cards and wanted nothing more then to rule the world, but upon going after Hirose, he instead found that Hirose was innocent and that Himura, one of Yuga's favorite teachers in the short time that he was taught by him, was the Masked Man all along. Keeping all this in mind, Yuga pulled four cards from his deck pouch. Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and Starving Venom Fusion Dragon. These four dragons seemed to have a special connection to one another, and each one that Yuga met in turn caused the others to shine, as if calling out to Yuga asking him to reunite them all together.

"What do you guys think?" Yuga asked the cards. "Do you think we should trust Lennox?" Almost as if the cards had minds, Yuga heard four different roars. Yuga's expression grew a bit more serious at that. "You guys don't trust him either, huh? It does seem a little odd how he's suddenly in power... Well, I'll think about it once my stomach is full."

He placed the four cards back into the deck pouch and raced towards the cafeteria, his stomach growling in fury at how hungry he was. When Yuga got there, he noticed that Ruka and the others were already at a table with food, strangly with eight trays even thought there were seven of them.

"We managed to get you some food," Ruka explained, as Yuga took a seat next to her. "We figured you'd want the pizza."

"You guessed right," Yuga grinned, taking his pizza and scarfing a big bite out of it.

"What did Hirose want?" Shin asked.

"To warn me about Lennox," Yuga mumbled past his food, swallowing it before continuing. "Said that I shouldn't trust him."

"Hirose is right," Ruka stated, looking concerned. "You... believe him, right Yuga?"

"Of course I do," Yuga sighed. "It's just that I have a hard time believing Hirose when I barely even know Lennox personally. I can only judge a person based on what I see, and as far as I have seen, Lennox is not that bad... defiantly fishy though, how he's here at Union."

"A lot of things Lennox does is fishy," Roku stated. "I don't want to being up bad blood, but-" He suddenly stopped, looking over as Shin, who at the mere thought of what Roku was about to bring up became white in the face.

"Shin..." Naomi sadly said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"No, Roku is right," Shin suddenly said, looking bold. "My brother's trail was defiantly one of his stunts. I mean... my brother hurt someone really bad, was pretty much guilty of it to, so why would Lennox set up a duel where he could win his freedom? I highly doubt it was just to 'pass on the champion title' the traditional way."

"Lennox isn't a duelist, is he?" Asami asked.

"No, he is." Vince mumbled, scarfing his own pizza. "Heard he's a damn good one too..."

"So you think he's at Union because of dueling?" Yuga asked.

"How should I know?" Vince snapped, though he looked deep in thought. "Although, that rumor could be the reason..."

"Rumor?" Shin asked.

"Come to think of it, a few other students were saying he might be here because of some rumor spreading around," Tamiko pointed out.

"I... am not sure how credible this rumor is," Roku stated. "But there is a rumor going around that this year, there is going to be a tournament between several different duel schools."

"You're kidding," Yuga gasped, dropping the crust of his pizza back on his plate in shock.

"Like I said, it's nothing more then a rumor at this point," Roku shrugged. "And even if this so called tournament does happen, we don't even know how the students would get chosen. For all we know, it could be seniors only."

"That would be a shame," Yuga sighed, thinking to himself. "Lennox being a scammer or not, this tournament would be amazing."

"I wouldn't dwell on it too much," Ruka stated. "After all, rumors are constantly flying around this school, and almost 90 percent of them end up being total crap."

Still, Yuga couldn't get the image out of his mind, several different duel schools all throughout Fortune City competing for a grand prize, and Yuga willing it all with his four trusty dragons at his side, being crowed the number one school duelist in the entire city. If this rumor was true, and Lennox was indeed meeting with all the different duel schools to get approval for this, how could Yuga pass up the opportunity to compete in something as grand as this, even if Lennox was just using this tournament as part of some elaborate scheme of his?

XxXxXxX

"I just can't stop thinking about it,"

"Get it out of your head, Yuga. Like Ruka said, it's probably just some dumb rumor,"

It was evening at Union, and all of the students had returned to their dorms for the evening. Yuga was sitting on the couch of their apartment in the living room, with Shin cleaning dishes in the kitchen, and Vince and Roku having already gone to their rooms for the night. No matter how much Yuga tried to stop thinking about the possibility of a tournament between schools, it was all he could keep on the brain.

"Shin, you gotta admit that if something like this did happen, it would be amazing," Yuga explained, looking outside at the sky. "To become known as the best school duelist... hey, you think Raven would challenge whoever won this thing?"

Shin sighed, "Yuga, that if this so called tournament even does happen, which it probably wont. Lennox might be a duelist, but that is also just a rumor, and even if he dueled, why would he care about dueling at a school level in the first place?"

"Beats me," Yuga shrugged. "But-"

"Look, if it does happen or get announced, then maybe I can be excited, but right now let's just focus on school," Shin yawned. "I'm gonna head for bed, night."

"Night," Yuga mumbled, watching Shin leave the room before sighing and leaning far back on the couch. He didn't see what the big deal was. Lennox might or might not be the bad guy everyone said he was, but there was barely anything he could gain for hosting a school tournament. It was almost as if people were judging this whole rumor just because Lennox's name looked to be attached to it. Yuga sighed, standing up and stretching a bit, but just before he could take even a single step, a ringing sound came from his pouch. He pulled out his duel pad, and clicked on the answer button. "Hello?"

"We have your dueling deck," a sudden gruff voice came from the device. "If you want it back, come to the basement of the card shop... alone!"

"My what?" Yuga gasped, racing to his room and opening the door. His deck pouch was no longer on the dresser where he had left it, and the window was wide open, as if someone had picked it from the outside.

"Remember, you must come alone," the voice said, before a click indicated the call was ended. Yuga narrowed his eyes in anger, and raced out of the apartment, checking back every once in awhile to be sure he wasn't being followed. He had dueled in the basement of the card shop before, so finding his way there barely took anytime at all, and when he walked into the back of the shop, a simple left and down the stairs lead him to what looked like a dueling arena, with two figures standing on the opposite side of the field. The lights no longer worked downstairs, as Yuga could not makeout what the two looked like.

"I'm here," Yuga decalred. "Now where are my cards?"

"At your feet," the first figure said, pointing. Yuga raised an eyebrow but looked down, and sure enough, his card pouch was sitting at his feet. He bent down and picked it up, but as he did, the figure spoke again, "But since you are down here, perhaps we could interest you in a duel?"

"And that isn't a request," the second figure snapped his fingers, and suddenly the door at the top of the stairwell slammed shut, and clicked indicating that it was locked. "It was a demand."

Yuga glared at the two figures, and smirked. "If you two wanted a duel, all you needed to do was ask. I'm not known to back down from a duel!" Yuga activated his duel disk, the energy blade popping out of the side as Yuga put his deck into the deck holder of the device, and his Extra Deck into the Extra Deck slot. "Duel!"

Yuga: 4000 vs Mysterious Figures: 4000 & 4000

"My turn," Yuga declared, pulling two cards from his hand. "I, using the Scale 1 Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon and the Scale 8 Odd-Eyes Mirage Dragon, set the Pendulum Scale! This allows me to special summon monsters in between the levels of 2 and 7!"

Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon and Odd-Eyes Mirage Dragon appeared on the field in columns of light blue energy, roaring violently.

"I Pendulum Summon!" Yuga announced. "Come froth, Level 4 Dragonpulse Magician (1800/900), Level 4 Performapal Uni (800/1500) and my Level 7 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (2500/2000)!" Three monsters appeared on the field, with Odd-Eyes towering over them and roaring viciously, glaring down at the two figures. "Now, I overlay my Level 4 Dragonpulse Magician and my Level 4 Performapal Uni!" Both monsters were surrounded by purple energy and flew into a swirling vortex that emerged in the ground. "Formed from pitch black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon (2500/2000)!" A huge, black dragon appeared from the vortex surrounded by two glowing purple orbs. "I end my turn there."

"Then allow us to begin," the figure on the left declared, drawing a card. "I summon my Chainsaw Insect in attack mode (2400/0)!"

"A Level 4 monster with 2400 attack points?" Yuga asked, shocked.

"Yes, but whenever he attacks or is attacked, you get to draw a card, though I am not to worried about that," the first figure stated. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn."

"Then it is my turn," the second figure announced, drawing a card. "For my turn, I summon my Pinch Hopper on the field in attack mode (1000/1200). Then I will place one card facedown and play my spell card, Insect Barrier! Any Insect-Type monster that you control cannot attack us as long as this card is on the field!"

Yuga looked a little stunned, but then smirked. "Um, I hate to disappoint you, but my two monsters are Dragon's, not insects."

"For now," the second figure said. "I end my turn there."

"Alright, my turn," Yuga declared, drawing a card. "I activate the special effect of my Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! By detaching both of his overlay units, I can target one monster on your side of the field, and cut it's attack points in half. Additionally, my Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon gains those lost attack points. The monster I will target is your Chainsaw Insect (Chainsaw Insect: 2400 → 1200, Dark Rebellion: 2500 → 3700)! Now, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, attack his Pinch Hopper! You're about to take 2700 points worth of pain, whoever you are!"

"Not so fast," the first figure declared. "I activate my face down trap card, DNA Surgery! As long as this card is on the field, all monsters that are face up on the field become any type I declare, and I choose insect!"

"So that means," Yuga hissed in shock.

The second figure laughed, "That you can no longer attack us!"

"But that is not the least of your concerns, Yuga," the first figure stated. I activate my second trap, Swarm of the Insects!"

"I've never heard of that card before," Yuga stated, looking confused.

"It is a powerful trap, one that was never released to the public," the first figure declared. "For every insect-type monster face up on the field at the end of all of our turns, you take 200 life points of damage per monster!"

"No way!" Yuga shouted.

"I am afraid it is true," the first figure stated. "Now end your turn, as you cannot do much more."

Yuga snarled, looking at his hand. "I place one card face down and end my turn." At once, sparks surrounded Yuga, and his life began to drain (Yuga: 4000 → 3200).

"Since there is four insect monsters on the field, you took 800 life points of damage," the first figure stated, before drawing. "Now for my turn. I summon my Petit Moth (300/200), and even though he looks weak, he is protected by our Insect Barrier, and will add 200 more points of damage to my Swarm of the Insects trap! Now, I end my turn, so you take 1000 points of damage!" Yuga screamed in pain again as electricity surrounded him (Yuga: 3200 → 2200).

"It's not enough!" the second figure screamed in fury, drawing. "I activate my facedown card, Ultimate Offering! By sacrificing 500 life points, I get an additional normal summon this turn! So I will sacrifice life points to summon 4 monsters (Figure 2: 4000 → 2500)! Come forth, two additional Pinch Hoppers, and two Petie Moths! Now I end my turn, take 1800 life points of damage!" Once again, Yuga screamed out, pain running through his body. When it ended, he looked straight down, panting heavily, his eyes covered by his bangs (Yuga: 2200 → 400). It was as if Yuga was dueling the first Shadow Duelist again, not being attacked but experiencing pain through card effects. That day was all too clear in Yuga's head, the pain and suffering his experienced.

But what stuck out most was when Ruka had a knife held to her. He could almost imagine it and feel the fury that he felt right before...

"You are taking this too far," the first figure said to the second. "Our orders were to test him for the tournament, not kill him."

"Come off it!" the second figure snapped, glaring at the first. "Torture unleashes the worst in people! If he is going to show us what he is really capable of, it's now!"

"In his weakened state, he can barely stand," the first figure said, glancing at Yuga, who was suddenly surrounded by a dark aura.

"You... will PAY!" Yuga suddenly said, in a deep voice that almost sounded inhuman. Both figured turned in shock, looking at Yuga as the dark aura flared around him. He looked up, his right eye taking a red color and his left eye taking a green color. He suddenly roared in fury, the dark aura intensifying and seemed to take a dragon like form, with glaring red eyes. "My turn! I activate the magic card, The Phantom Knights of Possession! An Xyz Monster on my side of the field now gains a level equal to one monster on my side of the field! With Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, I grant Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon a level of 7!"

"This is it," the first figure said, eyes widened. "The power we heard about... Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!"

"S-so we came this far," the second figure shook a little. "Y-you didn't think of a way to stop it, did you?"

"As long as our Insect Barrier remains in play, we have nothing to fear from that monster."

Yuga snarled, holding up his hand. "I overlay my Level 7 Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and my Level 7 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Dragon with dual colored eyes, resurrect from the deep darkness. With the flame of rage, incinerate everything on earth! Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 7! Supreme King Violent Dragon, Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon (3000/2500)!"

"T-t-that wasn't the monster he talked about," the second figure gasped.

"What is that... and this power I am feeling?" the first figure asked.

"Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon activates his special effect!" Yuga announced. "If my Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon was Xyz Summoned using an Xyz Monster as material, I can destroy as many cards you control as possible, and Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon gains 200 attack points for each card destroyed!"

"N-No way!" both figures shouted, as Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon glowed with fury, sending beams of energy from his mighty wings, before sharply spinning. Every card on both figure's fields was destroyed instantly.

"11 cards in total were destroyed, so Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon gains 2200 attack points!" Yuga declared (Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon: 3000 → 5200). "Now, to destroy you both."

Both figures were speechless, but the first one chuckled a little. "It's a bit too bad kid... there are two of us, so even if you do attack, on the next turn-"

"There isn't going to be a next turn!" Yuga shouted in fury. "Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon can attack twice per Battle Phase! GO ODD-EYES, SEND THEM TO HELL!" Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon roared, unleashing a steam of mighty flames that engulfed both figures (Figure 1: 4000 → 0, Figure 2: 2500 → 0).

Yuga Wins!

Flames still burned in the room, despite the holograms vanishing in a stream of glitter. Yuga was panting before drawing a deep breath, holding onto his head and closing his eyes. When he opened them again, his normal golden ones had returned. Both figures had vanished, leaving nothing behind but the fire that was used to attack them. Yuga looked at his hand, which was trembling a little.

XxXxXxX

"You two did well."

"But we failed to defeat Yuga," the first figure said.

"P-please forgive us, sir," the second one cowered.

"I did not ask you to defeat Yuga," the shadowed person said. "I only asked you to test him, and if what you reported is true, then there is more to Yuga then I thought there was." The figure stepped forward, revealing his face at least. Lennox smirked, holding a glass of wine and twirling it around. "This tournament is going to be more interesting then I thought it would be."


	3. Duel Runners

**Thanks to Phantom Knight21, D3lph0xL0v3r, Draen, pokemonking0924, king of the lion and Umbruhon for reviewing Chapter 2, and I apologize for how long this chapter took to get out. I have had a busy summer with job hunting, family events, and more. Hopefully once I get into a routine and find a job (yup, still no luck with that one), I can start making scheduled times for writing each of my stories individually, but until then I'm pretty much only writing when I am really inspired to.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Duel Runners, huh?" Yuga asked, a bowl of rice being held up to his face as he looked over it at his friends at the lunch table, some rice hanging from his face. "About time they taught us how to ride one of those."

"I agree," Roku muttered, reading over the syllabus for Gym Class. "However, I can't help but feel that we won't exactly be thrown into a duel on one of those without some basic training first."

"How do you think they will handle it?" Asami asked.

"Who knows," Roku sighed, putting down the sheet of paper. "What I do know is that we will be riding rentals, so the bikes may be tuned back to prevent us from going too fast. After all, we will be riding on the indoor learning course."

"That blows," Yuga muttered, shoving rice back into his mouth. "Oh well, at least we get to ride them period. Duel Runners have been the single best thing I've been looking forward too since I came here."

"Yuga, are you-" Ruka started to say.

"I'm fine, Ruka," Yuga suddenly interrupted, putting down his now empty bowl of rice and giving her a wide smile. "Seriously, you've been asking all week."

"I was just making sure," Ruka sighed, though her eyes were still locked on Yuga, expressing concern.

"Yuga, ever since last week, you've been somewhat odd," Shin stated. "I'm beginning to think that Ruka is right and that you aren't completely ok."

"Oh come on, Shin, if I say I am fine that means I am fine," Yuga grinned, standing up and stretching a bit. "Though I am a little excited about this class, and I dunno about you guys, but I wanna get down there early and see if they will let me look at the runners! Join me if you want, see you there!"

"Yuga!" Ruka shouted, but he was already running off. "Oh man..."

"What did happen a week ago?" Naomi asked, looking concerned at Shin.

"Yuga wondered off in the dead of night, and when he came back he was practically shaking from head to toe," Shin explained, looking between them all worried. "He said something about a duel, but he wouldn't go into anymore detail. Ever since that night, he's been somewhat odd."

"It's Yuga," Vince muttered, taking a bite of rice. "He's always odd."

"Vince, this is serious," Ruka snapped, glaring at him for a moment before turning her attention back to the door that Yuga ran out of. "Something must've happened during that night, but what?"

"You don't think it has anything to do with Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon, do you?" Roku asked. At that, everyone there shuttered a little bit, all except Tamiko and Vince, the latter looking indifferent and the former looking confused.

"Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon?" Tamiko asked.

"A mixture between Odd-Eyes and Dark Rebellion," Vince muttered, once again taking a bite. "Aka, Yuga's most powerful monster that we know of."

"When Yuga Xyz Summons that monster, he... he..." Ruka started to say, but couldn't bring herself to say anymore.

"Changes," Roku finished for her. "His personality becomes completely different, and not only that, but a dark aura surrounds him and his eyes change to match that of his Odd-Eyes monsters. We've been calling it his Dark Mode."

"Dark Mode," Tamiko muttered, looking down at the table. "Wait, I remember now... Yuga's eyes changed when he was dueling Himura!"

They all nodded, with Naomi being the next to speak. "It seems like if he willingly enters it, he doesn't lose control, but that aura of his can tell us. If it is calm, he's in the first state and in control... when it's not, he's in the second and lacks control."

"The second state," Roku muttered. "We have no clue what causes it, but it seems to be a mixture of anger, and something to do with the four dragons he wields. The first time it happened, he entered second state upon seeing Ruka injured... after that, he summoned Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon."

"If Yuga dueled that night, and was either driven to a point of anger, or was forced to summon Odd-Eyes Rebellion, it would explain his attitude now," Ruka explained. "Don't forget, he did the same thing when he dueled against Masuhiro, only he was in the first state and slipped into the second when Masuhiro lead him to believe that Hirose was the Masked Man."

"You don't think that Yuga seriously hurt somebody because of his Dark Mode, do you?" Naomi gasped, looking horrified.

"Either way, we should confront Yuga about it after classes are done," Shin said. "I don't care if he doesn't want us to know, Yuga is our friend, and if his Dark Mode is giving him trouble, we have to help him!" Every nodded in agreement, with Vince simply sighing and muttering 'whatever'.

XxXxXxX

"Duel Runners," Ms. Kato, the Gym Teacher was explaining, standing beside a white bike and wearing a blue jumpsuit which covered her from her neck down to her feet. "They are at their core a specialized version of the Duel Disk used in Turbo Duels, but they can also serve as one's transportation. Often times, Pro Dueling makes use of Duel Runners to make the duel more exciting and interesting for the audience to watch, though Action Duels also serve this same goal. Therefore, some duelists will only specialize in Turbo Duels, while others will do Action Duels. For the truly brave, there are those that go into Turbo Action Duels, a variant that combines both aspects and uses them at the same time."

"That sounds awesome!" a student in the back shouted. "I didn't know that could be done."

"Yes, but I doubt we will be partaking in that type of duel yet," Roku stated. "You need tons of balance to ride a bike, let alone grab action cards when riding one."

"So, what are we going to do today, teach?" Ruka asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Kato smiled, glancing over at the white bike. "Today, one of you will be riding this around the test track and dueling one of our robots. He'll be set on easy just to give that student a feel for the ride of the Duel Runner as well as a basic feel for how Turbo Duels work. Do we have a-"

"I'll go!" Yuga immediately said, stepping forward and raising his hand.

Ms. Kato laughed at that. "Always the excited one, huh, Yuga? Very well, we have a rental jumpsuit all ready for you. Go change and come back out here with your deck when you are ready."

"Got it," Yuga gave a thumbs up before running off.

"Well, that's normal for Yuga," Ruka sighed, looking after him.

After about 5 minutes passed, Yuga came running out of the locker rooms, deck in hand, wearing a black jumpsuit which covered from his neck to his feet. He couldn't keep a grin off his face as he got on the Duel Runner, and placed his deck into the deck slot on the bike, which lit up and extended a blue energy blade where he would put his cards. All of the students were already up in the observation dec, with Ruka and the others in particular sitting front row, each one watching Yuga carefully.

"Remember, this is just a test duel to get you used to the runner, so the robot will be very easy," Ms. Kato explained from the command booth, watching Yuga from the window.

"I know," Yuga said, looking over. There was a thick steel looking beam running all around the track, where a black bike looking robot was sitting, ready to go.

"Activate the duel robot," Kato ordered. "Set it's level to one."

"Yes ma'am," a senior student sitting at the console said, rapidly typing away on his computer. As he did, the screen flashed with various numbers and code, and finally the robot illuminated with a green glow, the screen on the bike console lighting up.

"ACTIVATING DUEL MODE," the robot said in a synthetic loud voice. "DUEL LEVEL SET TO ONE. PROCEED."

"Hey, maybe you could've programmed him to be a little more human," Yuga pouted, but he sighed. "Ah well, the real treat is riding this thing." Yuga's grin got wider, as he pulled a black helmet onto his head, closing a clear visor so it covered his eyes.

"Are you ready, Yuga?" Kato asked. Yuga gave a thumbs up, so she continued. "Alright, get ready! Get set... Go!"

A sequel of the tires occurred with Yuga spinning them in place before taking off, the robot slowly beginning to accelerate on the track before taking off to catch up and keep pace with him.

"Duel!"

Yuga: 4000 vs Robot: 4000

"Since you made it around the bend first, Yuga, you get the first move," Ms. Kato explained.

"Alright, let's see." Yuga declared, looking at his five cards in his hand. "I, using the Scale 2 Oafdragon Magician, and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician, set the Pendulum Scale!" Two colums of light blue energy extended from the ground as the two Magicians flew up inside of them, racing along side Yuga and the Duel Runner. "With this, I can Pendulum Summon monsters from Level 3 though 7. Now I Pendulum Summon, the Level 7 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (2500/2000)! I'll place a card facedown and end my turn."

"IT IS-" the robot began to say, but suddenly sparks flew out of the device, a static sound admitting from the speakers on the bike. For a few seconds, nothing happened, then suddenly the green lights on the device changed to red, and when it spoke next, the synthetic voice was no longer high pitched, but deep. "MY MOVE. DRAW ONE CARD."

"What's going on?" Asami asked. "What happened to it's voice, and the lights changed from green to red."

"What happened?" Ms. Kato asked.

"I-I'm not sure!" the senior student gasped, typing rapidly. "The duel robot is no longer in my control! And the level of the AI was set to max!"

"Cancel the duel!" Ms. Kato ordered. "Yuga cannot fight that!"

"I'm trying, but nothing I do is working," the senior whined, typing faster.

"Well, did the deck get replaced?" Ms. Kato asked, panicing. "What is in the robots hand?"

"Five dragons, and Polymerization!"

Ms. Kato gasped at that. "Oh no... Yuga!"

"MAKING MOVE," the duel robot stated. "ACTIVATING SPELL CARD, POLYMERIZATION. EFFECT, FUSION SUMMON 1 FUSION MONSTER FROM YOUR EXTRA DECK, USING MONSTERS FROM YOUR HAND OR FIELD AS FUSION MATERIALS. SENDING AXE DRAGONUTE, EXPLODER DRAGON, DARKBLAZE DRAGON, SNOWDUST DRAGON AND BABY DRAGON FROM HAND TO FUSION SUMMON THE LEVEL 12 FIVE-HEADED DRAGON."

"Say what!?" Yuga asked in shock. Five energy columns of black, red, green, blue and brown shot from the ground and swirled together. When the light vanished, a monstrous dragon was floating there, roaring viciously with five heads, each one different from the last. One was a dark black head, one was a golden head, one was made of fire, another was made of water, and the final head was mecha looking. The dragon had a yellow body with giant wings, which flapped, created a bit of wind under it.

"FIVE-HEADED DRAGON SPECIAL EFFECT: MUST BE FUSION SUMMONED AND CANNOT BE SUMMONED BY OTHER WAYS. CANNOT BE DESTROYED BY BATTLE BY DARK, FIRE, WATER, WIND OR EARTH ATTRIBUTE MONSTERS. DECLARING BATTLE," the robot stated. "ATTACKING ODD-EYES PENDULUM DRAGON WITH FIVE-HEADED DRAGON." The monstrous dragon roared, sending out five beams of a different color from the respective head.

"Trap activate!" Yuga declared. "Negate attack! Your battle phase is canceled, and your attack is canceled as well, meaning that my monster is safe!"

"ENDING TURN," the robot declared.

"Yuga managed to avoid taking massive damage," Ms. Kato sighed, sitting down in a chair.

"But the duel robot isn't done," the senior student stated. "With Five-Headed Dragon's effect, Yuga cannot defeat that monster unless he uses a Light Attribute monster, and if I remember correctly, Yuga has none of those!"

"So how can Yuga win?" Tamiko asked.

"Yuga can't destroy Five-Headed Dragon, but he can overpower it," Roku explained. "All he needs to do is attack him with a monster stronger then 5000 attack points and he will deal a good amount of damage to the robot."

"Yuga doesn't have any monsters that powerful though," Asami pointed out.

"Yes he does," Ruka mentioned, watching him carefully. "Three of his four dragons can create that kind of power."

"It's my turn!" Yuga declared, drawing a card. "I activate the spell card Odd-Eyes Fusion! With it, I can fuse together two or more monsters on my side of the field or in my hand. I fuse together my Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon on my field, with the Dark Attribute Tuning Magician from my hand! Poisonous dragon with hungry fangs, emerge from the fusion of darkness, and terrorize this world with your almighty power! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 8! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon (2800/2000)!"

"What is that monster?" Ms. Kato asked, gasping.

"Starving Venom Fusion Dragon," the senior student repeated, reading the effect on his screen, his eyes lighting up as he smiled. "Oh, I see!"

"Starving Venom Fusion Dragon's effect activates!" Yuga declared. "When he is fusion summoned, he gains attack points equal to the attack points of one special summoned monster on your side of the field until the end of my turn. Since fusion summon is a type of special summon, Starving Venom gains attack points equal to your Five-Headed Dragon, which is 5000 (Starving Venom: 2800/2000 → 7800/2000)!"

"7800 attack points!?" Vince gasped, watching in awe.

"Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, attack his Five-Headed Dragon now!" Yuga declared. Starving Venom roared, spreading it's mouth like wings and creating a web of red energy. The energy flew forth, slamming into Five-Headed Dragon, which screamed in pain (Robot: 4000 → 1200).

"Unfortunantly, Starving Venom's attack goes back to normal at the end of my turn (Starving Venom: 7800/2000 → 2800/2000)," Yuga stated, looking grim.

"That was a risky move," Roku stated. "Yuga didn't draw the right cards, so we was forced to fuse Tuning Magician and Odd-Eyes to create Starving Venom. Although he did some damage, it all depends on the duel robots next move. Either way, Starving Venom is going to be destroyed this turn."

"STARTING TURN," the duel robot stated. "ACTIVATING CARD, EXCHANGE OF LIFE. CARD EFFECT: FOR EVERY 500 POINTS OF DAMAGE DONE TO MY LIFE POINTS LAST TURN, YOU DISCARD 1 CARD FROM YOUR DECK TO YOUR GRAVEYARD, ROUND DOWN. 2800 DIVIDED BY 500 IS 5.6, ROUNDED DOWN IT IS 5. DISCARD 5 CARDS FROM YOUR DECK TO YOUR GRAVEYARD."

"I've never heard of that card before!" Ruka shouted.

"That card... shouldn't be in the database," the senior at the computer said in shock, typing rapidly. "It's a card that was never released to the public, because it was too powerful."

"Then why it is in the database?" Ms. Kato asked.

"Whoever is hacking into the system must've added the card into the database," the senior explained, still typing rapidly.

Yuga sat there for a minute before drawing the five cards and discarding them into the graveyard. As he did, however, he had a flashback to the duel a week ago, how the opponents he was dueling then also had used a card unreleased to the public, deemed too powerful for use. Were these two incidents connected? Was someone playing games with him? As he thought about it, he grit his teeth in anger.

"COMMENCING BATTLE PHASE, ATTACKING STARVING VENOM FUSION DRAGON WITH FIVE-HEADED DRAGON," the robot stated. The monstrous dragon roared, sending out five beams of a different color from the respective head, but this time the attack went though, blasting Starving Venom Fusion Dragon and causing him to shout in pain before he exploded, with Yuga yelling out as his bike spun around before returning back to normal, though he hit his head against the panel and slumped over in his seat, surprisingly remaining on the bike (Yuga: 4000 → 1800). "ENDING TURN."

"Yuga!" Ruka shouted in panic.

"He's knocked out!" Ms. Kato shouted. "Shut it down now!"

"I've been trying, ma'am, but I can't!"

"Yuga, wake up!" Shin shouted.

"Look!" Naomi gasped. It was immediately noticed by everyone else, and mummers filled the stands as Yuga began to recover, gripping his hand on the handle bars. However, a dark aura was surrounding him, and when he lifted his head and stared ahead at Five-Headed Dragon, his eyes had changed to his red and green variant.

"Dark Mode," Ruka breathed, looking frightened.

"This isn't good," Vince hissed.

"My turn!" Yuga shouted in his deep voice, drawing a card. "I activate the card Pot of Greed, which let's me draw two cards!" He looked at both of the cards in his hand, and smirked at them, but it wasn't a happy smirk, but one of malicious nature. "First, I Pendulum Summon back Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon from my Extra Deck! Next, I activate the effect of Tuning Magician from my graveyard. If I have 2 magician cards in my Pendulum Zones, I can special summon her from my graveyard, but she is banished when she leaves the field. Come forth, Tuning Magician (0/0)! Tuning Magician's special effect, when she is summoned, I take 400 life points of damage, and my opponent gains 400 life points (Yuga: 1800 → 1400, Robot: 1200 → 1600)!"

"Why did Yuga do that?" Tamiko asked in panic. "Now the robot is ahead of him in life points!"

"If he plays his cards right, the risk might have been worth it," Roku stated.

Next, I activate the spell card, Pendulum Forth!" Yuga declared. "With this, I special summon one Pendulum Monster from my Pendulum Zone, but I must banish the other one. I special summon my Level 6 Oafdragon Magician, but I banish my Timegazer Magician! Now, I tune my Level 6 Oafdragon Magician to my Level 1 Tuning Magician! Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, and strike down your enemies at the speed of light! Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon (2500/2000)!"

"Clear Wing's effect doesn't target Five-Headed's since it doesn't necessarily activate," Naomi explained. "Yuga can't attack him with that monster."

"Unless he's going for Crystal Wing with that final card." Asami guessed.

"Wait, guys... that look, I think Yuga is doing something else," Ruka stated.

Yuga glanced at his final card, his expression turning to one of a twisted smile. "My final card... I activate Odd-Eyes Synchro Force! I change my Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon into a Level 1 Tuner monster with 0 attack and defense points (Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 2500/2000 → 0/0), then I tune him into my Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! Dragon with dual colored eyes, gain the shining wings and soar to the summit of supremacy! Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 8! Supreme King White Dragon, Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon (3000/2500)!"

"Odd-Eyes..." Shin gasped, his eyes looking frightened at the creature.

"Wing Dragon?" Ruka finished, looking just as worried.

"A mix between Odd-Eyes and Clear Wing," Roku stated. "Just like Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon was before."

"ERROR, ERROR, CARD NOT FOUND IN DATABASE," the robot stated. "TRANSMITTING DATA TO THE MASTER."

"Transmit this!" Yuga roared. "I enter my battle phase and activate Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon's special effect! During my battle phase, all Level 5 or higher monsters you control are instantly destroyed!" Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon roared, the sound waves slamming into Five-Headed Dragon and vaporizing it in a sea of glitter. "Additionally, I can still attack you! Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon, direct attack!" Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon roared, rushing forward in a flash of blue light, slamming into the robot, who began to send sparks everywhere once again (1600 → 0).

Yuga Wins!

"SYSTEM ERROR," the robot spoke, it's voice slowly returning to normal. "SYSTEM ERROR! SYSTEM-" Suddenly, in a flash of light, the robot exploded, sending shapnial everywhere and catching fire. The fire alarms began blaring as everyone instantly began fleeing to the emergancy exit, except for Yuga, who's eyes had returned to normal, and was staring down at the bike in shock.

"Yuga!" Ruka shouted at him. "Let's go!"

"R-right," Yuga muttered, grabbing his cards and running off the bike, chasing after Ruka.

XxXxXxX

"So, the experiment was successful?" Lennox asked.

"Yes, sir," a scientist stated, typing on his computer. A video of Yuga's duel with the robot was present on his second screen, replaying the moment the robot was defeated. "We have record of the entire duel, and Yuga's monster."

"Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon," Lennox repeated. "He called it the Supreme King White Dragon, did he not?"

"That is correct, sir," the scientist stated, looking at him. "But I have no idea where it came from! We have no record of that card existing at all until just now."

"There is no need to stress ourselves where the beast came from," Lennox stated. "Just that it is here now... The Supreme King Black Dragon, Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon... The Supreme King Violent Dragon, Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon... and now The Supreme King White Dragon, Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon. Yuga, what other secrets will you reveal to me before we finally start this tournament."

XxXxXxX

"Tell us everything,"

"You can't hide it any longer,"

"We know something is going on, Yuga,"

Yuga was sitting on the couch of the apartment, staring down at his dueling deck. Surrounding him was Roku, Vince, Tamiko, Naomi, and Asami. On either side of him sat Shin and Ruka, each one looking upset.

"The hacking of the robot, the new monster," Vince hissed. "Something is going on with you and we demand to know what."

"Yuga, is your Dark Mode acting up?" Naomi asked.

"Where did Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon come from?" Ruka asked.

"How am I supposed to answer you when I don't know myself!" Yuga snapped, glaring at all of them in turn. Silence struck them before Yuga sighed. "Sorry. I'm just as confused as you guys after all."

"Maybe you can start with last week?" Shin asked.

Yuga finally nodded. "Last week, my deck was taken and I was forced to duel two people. They pushed me to my limit and I finally entered my dark state and summoned..."

"Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon?" Asami asked, holding up the card after pulling it from Yuga's deck.

Yuga took the card and put it on the table. "No... worse." He then pulled another card form the deck, placing it beside the first card.

"Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon!" Ruka gasped, looking at the beast in shock.

Yuga nodded. "You guys were all so afraid of Odd-Eyes Rebellion, that I didn't want to tell you about this one... but I guess now that you've seen this one..." Yuga placed Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon on the table beside him. "I don't know where they are coming from, or why I have this dark power. But I do know this... there's more out there."

"What do you mean?" Vince asked.

"Supreme King Black Dragon," Yuga said, pointing to Odd-Eyes Rebellion. "Supreme King White Dragon." He pointed to Odd-Eyes Wing this time. "Supreme King Violent Dragon." His finger landed on Odd-Eyes Raging this time, pausing before he stood up and walked towards the balcony. "There are more, I can just feel it, and I know that eventually I will have to summon them... wither I am forced to or not. Whatever or whoever is testing me out there wants to see these dragons, and won't stop pestering me until I summon them all."

"What are we going to do, Yuga?" Ruka asked, looking after him.

Yuga paused for a moment before turning back to her, looking determined. "We are going to fuse Odd-Eyes and Starving Venom before I slip back into Dark Mode. Let's see what monster they make before I are forced to summon it."


	4. The Theft

**So hey listen guys, I know it's been awhile since I updated this story, but please try and understand why. As I said in my author's note of Chapter 11 in the original YuGiOh Neo story, I like taking my time with these chapters to make them good. Additionally, I got a job recently so that's been taking up all of my time and energy. So please just be patient with me... and for the love of the Blue Eyes White Dragon please don't PM me or post reviews begging or demanding that I update this story (like three of you readers decided to do). It's just going to piss me off, and might even lead to me blocking you if it occurs enough. Just have some patience you guys.**

 **Hell I worked today, picked up Mario Odyssey, came home and instead of playing that, I wrote the rest of this chapter. You're welcome!**

 **Anyway onto Chapter 3 reviewers: Thanks to Draen, king of the lion, Phantom Knight21, D3lph0xL0v3r, and pokemonking0924 for the reviews. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

"I, using the Scale 1 Stargazer Magician, and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician, set the Pendulum Scale!" Yuga shouted. The two monsters appeared on the field, floating up into light blue columns of light. A 1 and an 8 appeared on the field underneath them, as a swirl appeared in the sky. "With this, I can Pendulum Summon monsters from level 2 through 7! Now I Pendulum Summon, the Level 7 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (2500/2000)! Ready, Shin?"

Shin, who was on the other side of the field, sighed as he nodded back. "As ready as I'll ever be. Here's hoping you don't slip into Dark Mode."

Yuga sighed, pulling the first of two remaining cards in his hand. "I activate the spell card, Pendulum Fusion! With this, I can Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck using monsters I control as Fusion Materials. Additionally, I can use cards in my Pendulum Zones as materials. I fuse together the dark attribute Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician in my Pendulum Zones! Poisonous dragon with hungry fangs, emerge from the fusion of darkness, and terrorize this world with your almighty power! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 8! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon (2800/2000)!" Yuga then looked down at the final card in his hand, Odd-Eyes Fusion. If he was correct, this plan would force the next dragon to appear, without risking him summoning it in an uncontrolled dark mode. "I activate the final card in my hand, Odd-Eyes Fusion! Now I fuse my Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon with my Starving Venom Fusion Dragon to create-"

But before he could say anymore, an big flashing sign that read "error" popped up on the duel pad screen. Odd-Eyes Fusion was forcefully ejected from the card slot Yuga put it in. Shin sighed in relief, not wanting to face whatever monster would emerge from the merge of the two. Yuga, however, groaned in annoyance.

"Guess that plan didn't work," Tamiko muttered.

"Maybe they fuse via contact fusion?" Ruka suggested.

"Good idea," Yuga grinned at her before turning back to the field, where Shin was once again looking worried. "Alright, I declare contact fusion, merging my Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon with my Starving Venom Fusion Dragon to create-", but once again, the error message reappeared. Yuga sighed in annoyance, sitting down as the practice duel around them faded. "I don't get it. I know I got the right set up, so why isn't this working?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Vince huffed, looking annoyed. "You aren't angry. Your Dark Mode is connected to the dragons somehow, and the only way you can merge them together is to get angry."

"Alright, I'll try getting angry." Yuga stated, getting back up. "The last chicken taco was taken at lunch... oh man does that irritate me."

"Take this seriously, will ya!?" Vince shouted.

Ruka giggled, as Roku sighed. "This isn't working. I don't think we can just force the dragon to appear like this. I believe Vince is right."

"You do?" everyone, including Vince, asked Roku.

The white haired teen nodded in response. "The dragons are connected to whatever causes you to slip into the dark state, therefore you need to be in that state to summon them for the first time. After that, you get the card that allows you to call them again. To be honest, unless you summon a dragon while in that state, and the uncontrolled one at that, I don't think summoning the fusion Odd-Eyes will be possible."

Yuga sighed, sitting back down and looking into the clouds. "I want to avoid doing that, though. Everytime I do, something bad happens, or I scare people. I'd rather not enter that level of dark mode again, especially in front of the school."

"On top of that, whoever is causing these incidents to happen wants to see Yuga's dragons," Ruka muttered, sitting down next to him and placing her hand on his shoulder.

"But why?" Naomi asked. "Why are Yuga's monsters such a big deal to whoever this is that they have to hack into the school, or send two thieves after Yuga's deck?"

"And more importantly, is it connected to Lennox or the rumors about the tournament?" Asami asked.

"Regardless of answer, we need to be ready," Roku stated. "For anything."

Everyone was nodding in agreement, except for Vince, who was standing there with his arms crossed. While everyone else continued talking and branched off, heading their own separate directions, Vince just stared after them, a scowl on his face. The day passed quickly, since it was the weekend not a lot of stuff was happening around campus other then the occasional study group that met up to go over what was learned in class that week. Finally, night fell on the campus and a tired Yuga yawned as he dragged his feet into his room.

"Man am I beat..." Yuga sighed, his face hitting his pillow as he lied down. "I think I'm going to bed early guys."

"Hey, either of you find it strange that Vince hasn't been seen all day?" Shin asked, looking around confused. "Ever since this morning when we tried to summon Yuga's monster, he's just been gone."

Roku nodded, before looking over at Yuga's dresser. Confused, he walked over to it, eyeing a white piece of paper that had some writing on it. It only took him a few moments to read that paper before he turned back to Yuga, who was still face first in his pillow. "Hey, Yuga! You might want to read this?"

"No thanks," the muffled voice of Yuga replied. "I did enough of that when we were reviewing Ritual Summoning."

Shin immediately could tell something was wrong though, and grabbed the note from Roku, reading it aloud. "Hey dork, you should really keep a better eye on your stuff. I managed to swipe something from your deck as you were studying. Hope you don't miss it too much, Vince."

For a few moments, no one moved. Suddenly, Yuga shot up, grabbed his desk box from his belt, and pulled out his cards, going through them faster then Exodia would drain your life points. His face suddenly hardened as he glared at the cards, before looking up. "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon is gone."

"What!?" Shin gasped, looking shocked at Yuga, who stood up looking more serious then he ever had looked before.

"Is there anything else on that note?" Yuga asked, almost glaring holes through Shin.

Shin was beginning to sweat under Yuga's glare, looking paler by the second. Fortunantly for him, however, Roku look back the note and re-read it again. "If you want your item back, come to the place where it all started."

"The place where it all started?" Shin asked, looking confused. "What does he mean?"

"He must mean the place where you two first met," Roku stated.

"The cafeteria," Yuga realized. "That's where Vince tripped me and we began our rivalry... so he wants to end this once and for all, huh?"

Suddenly, Yuga took off, and hot on his heels was Shin and Roku. They raced out of their apartment, the noise of their footsteps causing Ruka to open the door to the girls' apartment and look after them as they began heading down the stairwell, confused. "What's going on?"

"Vince stole my Dark Rebellion card!" Yuga shouted, not looking back.

"WHAT!?" Ruka gasped, looking stunned.

"We're meeting him in the cafeteria!" Roku shouted back to her, racing after Yuga and Shin.

"Why would Vince do that?" Asami asked, looking confused and worried.

"I don't know, but we better go to!" Ruka stated. "Come on, girls!"

XxXxXxX

Normally, the cafeteria was locked after hours, and the lights were all turned off. However, Vince was able to break the lock leading to the food haven for students, having no regard for what would happen as a result. He twirled a single card on his hand, staring impatiently at the door to the cafeteria. He didn't have to wait that much longer though, as the doors suddenly opened, Yuga marching in, glaring at Vince in anger. Following after him was everyone else, though Vince had no eyes for them.

"It's about time you showed up for our rematch!" Vince stated, smirking.

"Give me back my card, Vince!" Yuga demanded.

"How could you do something so awful?" Ruka asked.

"Because this was the only way," Vince noted, holding up the card he was twirling a few moments ago, revealing it as Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. "The only way that I could've secured my duel with you, Yuga! I think it's about time we finally end our little rivalry, don't you think? I've gotten much stronger, and I can't be worrying about my little squabble with you when I enter and win Lennox's stupid tournament."

"Aren't you the one that keeps that 'squabble' alive?" Ruka asked, sighing. However, Yuga didn't share her reaction. He didn't need to say anything, his actions said it all. Activating his duel pad, he stared down Vince, determination radiating from his very core. Vince put Dark Rebellion in his Extra Deck, activating his duel pad as well, filled with the same determination that coursed through Yuga.

"I win, I keep Dark Rebellion!" Vince declared. "If you win, you get him back! Now, enough talk!"

"Duel!"

Yuga: 4000 vs Vince: 4000

"I'll go first," Vince declared, looking at his hand. "First, I'll start with a little fusion action by activating the spell card Polymerization! I fuse together the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and the Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight in my hand! Dragon of Red-Eyes, take the mighty blade, merge it with your armor and become the dark sword of destruction! Fusion Summon! Level 8, Red-Eyes Slash Dragon (2800/2400)!"

"That's new," Yuga gulped, looking at the monster in shock. It looked very similar to the standard Red-Eyes, except the armor had a hue of purple over the standard black. Two wrist blades jetted out from his wrists, shining in the moonlight.

"That's not the only change to my deck since I last dueled you, Yuga!" Vince declared. "I place one card facedown and end my turn. Oh and by the way, if I win I might just help myself to your other dragons as well."

"Vince, knock it off!" Ruka shouted. "You've already proven once again that you're a total asshole by stealing Dark Rebellion!"

"Yeah, but doesn't anyone else find it odd that Vince is stooping this low at all?" Shin asked. "I get his jealously that he lost to Yuga when they dueled for that card, but why go as far as to steal it? I mean, Yuga would duel him if he just asked, right?" Everyone else was just as confused as Shin was, all expect for Roku, who was watching the duel intently with a knowing gaze.

"That won't happen Vince," Yuga shouted, drawing a card. "I'll win and get back my Dark Rebellion card, just watch! I use the Scale 2 Dragoncaller Magician and the Scale 8 Harmonizing Magician to set the Pendulum Scale! Using them, I Pendulum Summon the Level 5 Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon (1200/2400) and the Level 3 Odd-Eyes Mirage Dragon (1200/600)!"

Vince smirked at this. "That's right, fuse them together. I'm waiting, Yuga!"

Yuga glared a little. "Starving Venom wants his revenge for you stealing his brother! I activate the spell card Polymerization! With this, I can fuse together my two Dark Attribute dragons! Poisonous dragon with hungry fangs, emerge from the fusion of darkness, and terrorize this world with your almighty power! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 8! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon (2800/2000)!"

"They're even," Asami noticed.

"But with Starving Venom's effect, Yuga will double Starving Venom's attack points," Naomi stated.

"Starving Venom Fusion Dragon's effect activates," Yuga shouted. "When he is fusion summoned, I get to increase his attack power by the attack points of one monster on your side of the field, and since you only have one to choose from, let's choose him (Starving Venom: 2800/2000 → 5600/2000)! Now, I attack your Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!"

"Trap activate!" Vince shouted. "Draining Shield! I should thank you Yuga, not only did you card become mine, but the attack power of your monster are now mine as well. Draining Shield lets me convert all those attack points that you're firing my way into life points (Vince: 4000 → 9600)!"

"Vince has 9600 life points!" Shin gasped in shock.

"That's not the worst of it," Tamiko noticed. "I get the feeling we haven't seen all of the power that Red-Eyes Slash Dragon has."

Yuga growled a little, taking the final card in his hand and placing it into his duel pad. "I place one card facedown and end my turn. With that, the attack of my Starving Venom returns to normal (5600/2000 → 2800/2000)"

"Then it's go time," Vince shouted. "I activate the spell card Monster Reborn! With this, it's a good day for my Level 4 Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight, because he gets to come back from the grave (Gearfried: 1800/1600). Next, I summon from my hand my Level 4 Red-Eyes Retro Dragon (1700/1600) from my hand!"

"He's... going for a Level 4 Xyz Summon!" Tamiko gasped in shock.

"And I think we all know what he wants to summon," Ruka growled in annoyance.

"Now I overlay my Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight and my Red-Eyes Retro Dragon!" Vince shouted, as the two monsters became purple energy and flew into a vortex. "Formed from pitch black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Xyz Summon! Rank 4, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon (2500/2000)!"

Yuga looked up at Dark Rebellion with a mixture of rage and sorrow, but suddenly he gasped as a pulse raced through him. He growled in a voice full of agony and anger, his eyes rapidly flashing between yellow and the red/green duel form.

"Now I activate the special effect of Dark Rebellion!" Vince declared. "By detaching both of his overlay units, I can cut the attack points of your Starving Venom Fusion Dragon in half, and add them to Dark Rebellion's own attack power (Starving Venom: 2800/2000 → 1400/2000; Dark Rebellion: 2500/2000 → 3900/2000)! Now Dark Rebellion, attack Starving Venom! You go bye-bye!"

Dark Rebellion flew down and slammed into Starving Venom, but just as he did Yuga's hand suddenly flew towards his duel pad, pressing the screen. Smoke was kicked up as Vince laughed, but when the dust died down Starving Venom was still there, and a single card was up on Yuga's field along with him.

"Negate Attack?" Vince asked in shock.

"It automatically ends your battle phase, Vince," Yuga said in his deep voice. He slowly looked up, his eyes glowing and a dark aura radiating off him. "How dare you... how dare you make my dragons fight one another!"

"Get over it, they're just cards," Vince hissed. "I end my turn, now are you going to do this, or what?"

"Just you wait!" Yuga shouted, drawing a card. "I activate Pot of Greed, letting me draw two more cards from my deck." Yuga looked at the two cards, and the devilish smirk crossed his face again. "Using the already set Pendulum Scale, I call forth my most loyal servant, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (2500/2000)! Now, I activate the spell card, Odd-Eyes Fusion! With this, I fuse my Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and my Starving Venom Fusion Dragon together!"

"Here it comes..." Asami gasped.

Everyone was looking fearful as the two monsters began to merge, but Roku smirked. "So that's it."

"Dragon with dual colored eyes, become one with the poisonous dragon! Be the power that leads to supremacy! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 10! Supreme King Violet Dragon, Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon (3300/2500)!" Yuga chanted, as a purple dragon appeared behind him with eyes colored just like his, roaring in anger.

"It's already more powerful then the other two!" Tamiko gasped, stepping back.

"We might want to run," Shin's voice shook in fear, as Yuga roared, his dark aura becoming more intense and looking like a dragon with glowing red eyes.

"I activate the effect of Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon!" Yuga declared, holding out his hand. "Once per turn, he gains attack points equal to the attack points of one monster on your side of the field, and I choose Dark Rebellion (Odd-Eyes Venom: 3300/2500 → 7200/2500)! Now Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon, destroy Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" Odd-Eyes Venom roared, and in a blink of an eye, Dark Rebellion exploded (Vince: 9600 → 6300). "Your suffering has only begun!"

"Oh get over it," Vince sighed, suddenly smirking. "You summoned him, didn't you?"

Yuga looked confused, but his angry expression still remained. He turned slowly and looked up at Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon, his eyes lost.

"Wait, what does Vince mean?" Ruka asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Roku stated, grinning. "Vince stole Dark Rebellion not out of jealously, or because he wanted the card, but to force Yuga to become angry enough to summon Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon. Vince knew that Yuga could only summon that card for the first time when he was in a state of anger, so rather then wait for Yuga to be lured into a trap where he was forced to summon it, he decided to cause it to happen himself."

Yuga blinked suddenly, gasping as the dark aura vanished, and his eyes returned to their golden form. A wide grin spread on his face, as he turned to Vince beaming. "Thanks, Vince! Guess this means were friends now?"

"Not in your life!" Vince shouted, causing everyone to erupt into laughter.

Shin sighed in relief after he was done laughing. "And here I was thinking that Vince turned evil or something."

Vince huffed at that. "Don't relax just yet. I wasn't just doing this so Yuga could summon that monster. I was also doing it to duel Yuga again... this time at his best, and I WILL win!"

Yuga smirked at that. "Bring it on Vince, I end my turn there (Odd-Eyes Venom: 7200/2500 → 3300/2500)!"

"Now that Yuga is back to normal, and we can relax, this should be a fun duel to watch!" Naomi admitted.

"I never doubted Vince for a second!" Asami cheered. "Go baby!"

"It's my turn, Yuga!" Vince shouted, drawing a card. "And I activate the magic card, Card of Sanctity. We both now draw until we each are holding six cards. Sure you get cards too, but the risk might be worth it!" Vince and Yuga both drew six cards, and when both of them looked at their hands, their eyes both widened before they returned to normal, the two duelists facing one another. "I activate Red-Eyes Fusion from my hand, so now I send my Red-Eyes Black Dragon and my Meteor Dragon from my hand to the grave to fuse them! The sky is streaked with fire, as the destructive comet descends from the heavens to vaporize all in its way! Fusion Summon! Level 8, Meteor B Dragon (3500/2000)!"

"Now Vince can destroy Yuga's Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon!" Ruka gasped.

"Meteor B Dragon, destroy Yuga's Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon!" Vince declared. The flaming dragon roared, becoming a meteor and slamming into Odd-Eyes Venom, vaporizing the dragon instantly (Yuga: 4000 → 3800). "Now I declare battle with my Red-Eyes Slash Dragon, but before he attacks his special ability activates! Whenever he declares an attack, I can equip one warrior type monster from my graveyard to him, and he gains 200 attack points (Red-Eyes Slash: 2800/2400 → 3000/2400)! Now, attack Yuga directly!" The twin wrist blades cut through Yuga, sending him flying back (Yuga: 3800 → 800). Now I place three cards facedown and end my turn."

Yuga stood up, grinning. "You activated Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon's special effect. When he is destroyed, I can summon one monster from my Pendulum Zone onto my field, and he takes the place of the monster in my Pendulum Zone, so now I summon my Dragoncaller Magician (2400/1000), and Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon enters my Pendulum Zone!"

Vince smriked at that. "It doesn't matter. I got three cards facedown, two high level monsters on my side of the field, and one chunk of life points way higher then yours. You can't defeat me, Yuga. Not this time."

"I can, Vince, and I will!" Yuga shouted, drawing a card and bringing his hand total up to seven. "Now, the first card I activate is Mystical Space Typhoon. Now if I know you as well as I think I do, Vince, one of those facedowns is a dummy card placed there to intimidate me, right? There's also probably a Red-Eyes Spirit in there, correct?" Vince's eye twitched, which made Yuga grin. "I'm right on both fronts, so now it's a matter of guessing which card is the actual trap! And I think it's the middle one!" A tornado appeared out of the card, blasting the middle card, revealing Mirror Force.

"Wow, that was lucky!" Tamiko gasped in awe.

"Or Yuga knows his opponent well enough," Roku smirked.

"Now for the main event!" Yuga shouted. "I now Pendulum Summon forth four monsters from my hand! Come forth, Level 6 Oafdragon Magician (2100/1400), Level 7 Dragonpit Magician (900/2700), Level 7 Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (2500/2000), and finally my Level 7 Odd-Eyes Arc Pendulum Dragon (2700/2000)!"

"Arc Pendulum? That's new," Ruka gasped.

"Now I can begin! First, I overlay my Level 7 Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon and my Level 7 Dragoncaller Magician!" Yuga declared, the two monsters turning into purple orbs and flying into one another. "Dragon with dual colored eyes, resurrect from the deep darkness. With the flame of rage, incinerate everything on earth! Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 7! Supreme King Violent Dragon, Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon (3000/2500)! Since I summoned Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon using Dragoncaller Magician, if he battles another Dragon monster he doubles his attack points!"

Vince clenched his teeth. "It's going to take more then that to stop me!"

"That's why I'm not done!" Yuga shouted. "I next activate my second Odd-Eyes Fusion, to fuse my Dragonpit Magician with my Odd-Eyes Arc Pendulum Dragon! Dragon of fearsome winds, destroy all who oppose you with tornadoes of absolute devastation! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 7! Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon (2500/3000)! Now the special effect of my Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon in my Pendulum Zone activates! Once per turn, I can target one Fusion Monster I control and have it gain 1000 attack points for every monster on your side of the field, and I count 2 (Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon: 2500/3000 → 4500/3000)!"

"With 6000 attack points and 4500 attack points, Yuga can destroy both of Vince's monsters!" Shin said in awe.

"You still wont defeat me!" Vince shouted. "Your Oafdragon Magician is too weak to bring my life points down to zero, I'll still have 200 remaining! I won't lose this turn, Yuga!"

Yuga, however, smirked. "I still got one more card left, Vince, and my Normal Summon. I summon my Level 1 tuner monster, Effect Veiler, and now I can tune her into my Level 6 Oafdragon Magician! Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, and strike down your enemies at the speed of light! Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon (2500/2000)!"

"That means..." Vince gasped, flinching a bit.

"It's over," Yuga declared. "I attack your Meteor B Dragon with Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon! Since he was Xyz Summoned using Dragoncaller Magician, he doubles his attack points since he is battling a dragon type monster (Odd-Eyes Raging: 3000/2500 → 6000/2500)!" Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon roared and sent out a beam of energy with slammed into Meteor B Dragon, destroying it instantly (Vince: 6300 → 3800). "Now, Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon, destroy his Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!" Odd-Eyes Vortex roared, sending a tornado of energy flying towards Slash Dragon, who was torn apart by the winds (Vince: 3800 → 2300). "Now, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, end this duel!" Clear Wing roared, slamming into Vince, who went flying back as he shouted in pain (Vince: 2300 → 0).

Yuga Wins!

"Yuga, you did it!" Ruka shouted, hugging him.

"And you summoned Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon," Naomi cheered.

"Yeah, and thankfully I wasn't on the receiving end of it," Shin sighed.

Yuga laughed with his friends, before noticing Vince had stood up and began walking towards him. Vince and Yuga locked eyes, before Vince held up a card. "Here. Your card."

Yuga took the card from Vince and looked at it, seeing Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. "Thanks!"

"You still didn't have to steal that!" Ruka huffed, glaring at him.

"Yeah, I did," Vince snapped, for the first time glaring at her before turning back to Yuga. "Look, we both know that whoever wanted to see your dragons is plotting something, and it's best we get all our ducks in a row before they decide to strike again. What I did, I did for the team."

"I understand," Yuga stated. "Thanks for the help."

Vince huffed, turning away. "Don't thank me. I still don't know why our enemy wants to see your dragons... or even if we evaded them entirely."

"You mean-" Shin gulped.

Vince nodded, looking out the window. "They could be watching us right now..."

XxXxXxX

A television screen illuminated the dark room that Lennox was occupying in a room that looked fit for a king, complete with the largest red couch known to man, as well as various decorations and trophies, golden in color. He clicked a black remote, rewinding a video showing the summoning of Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon, analyzing the footage over and over, a serious look on his face.

"It's here... the final of the four super dragons," Lennox noted.

"So... he finally did it," a teenage boy's voice spoke.

Lennox turned, surprised. Walking towards him was a boy wearing a suit, a silver badge with the letters "K.I.D" standing out was pinned on the left of his suit jacket. His black hair was slicked back similar to Lennox's, though no traces of grey could be seen. His black eyes were watching the screen with intensity, analyzing it as closely as Lennox was earlier.

"I thought you would be in bed by now," Lennox stated, watching the boy.

"I couldn't sleep, father," the boy replied, a frown on his face. "That is his final dragon? How disappointing. It doesn't look at all intimidating."

"Don't underestimate your opponent, son," Lennox warned, looking back at the screen. "That dragon's effect could be your end. You must be ready."

"Father, you doubt that I will win your tournament?" the boy grinned devilishly, staring at the screen. "You've already given me a one up on all the other opponents, after all. You just worry about your campaign. This tournament will already make you look good, but for your plan of total domination over Fortune City to go off without a problem, you must be focused on your campaign. You are only temporary mayor for now, to win the election you must get on the good side of the city's people. Just leave winning the tournament to me. By winning this tournament, the son will control dueling, and the father will control politics. Together, the city will be ours."

"But to win the tournament, you will need to be careful," Lennox noted. "Don't forget who your main competition is... the boy who defeated the Wicked Gods!"

"His dragons may have won against those creatures," the boy stated. "But I got my own dragon... right, Felgrand?"

A low growl seemed to fill the room as a shadowed dragon seemed to appear behind the boy, golden glowing eyes appearing on it's shadow from the darkness.

* * *

 **By the way, yes I am aware I used the anime effect for Card of Sanctity. That was on purpose.**


	5. Building the Tension

**This had to be the hardest chapter I've ever written, for a few reasons. I wanted to find a way to introduce everyone's OCs at once, as well as give them all equal screen time, without being over the top. I finally decided on what took place in this chapter, and well, here we are. Now, there is only a brief interaction for now between Yuga and the OCs, cause this is only Chapter 5, we got a long way to go. Characters will later be given chapters all to themselves, as well as insight into their backstories as well as character development. At the end of the chapter, I will put an authors note, so please read that before reviewing.**

 **Thanks to the following who reviewed Chapter 4: Ethan Kironus, D3lph0xL0v3r, Draen, pokemonking0924, king of the lion, and an unnamed guest. Glad to see a few of you freaking out about a villain using Felgrand Dragon, which was my intention. Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"So, do we accept his invitation?"

Principal Mondo was sitting with his hands folded together, his eyes closed in concentration as the other teachers at Union Duel School stared at him with both concern and suspicion. Hirose was the most stern looking of them all, while Toma and Jin looked a little more worried about what was going on.

"He is up to something," Hirose stated. "But we can't be too sure what he could want with all the schools partaking in a city-wide tournament."

"Perhaps it is a way for him to secure the Mayor spot while the people are distracted," Takada guessed. "After all, if the city is focused on the duels, then he can do whatever he wants behind the scenes."

"But are we sure he is using this as a cover?" Toma asked, looking between Hirose and Takada. "Maybe he is just listening to the wants of the people. After all, a tournament between duel schools has been wanted for awhile now."

"Then it could be a publicity stunt to win the affection of the citizens," Jin noted. "Nothing more."

"But that is not Lennox's way," Hirose muttered, crossing his arms. "I know him… and he isn't the type to do something if it doesn't benefit him, or his rich friends, in some way."

Mondo sat there for a few more minutes, thinking. Finally, he stood up, walking to the back of the room and looking out his window at the campus below him. "Union has never backed down from a challenge before. We faced the Wicked Gods sealed beneath this very school, after all. Whatever Lennox is planning, I am sure we will be able to get through it. Still, we can't exactly figure out what Lennox is up to unless we do accept his invitation."

"Then you're suggesting we go for it?" Takada asked, surprised.

Modo turned to him, nodding. "But we need to be careful which students we allow to participate. After all, if this is indeed a plot, then we cannot allow just any student to get in. Thus, we need to figure out how to select our very best students to enter... and I believe I already have an idea."

XxXxXxX

"All students are to gather in the gym for the third period class time," the loud speaker said across campus, which made every student halt on their way to class in confusion. "I repeat, all students are to gather in the gym for the third period instead of reporting to your normal classes. That is all."

Despite the confusion, the students knew better then to just blow off the assembly. One by one, they filed their way into the gym, where the bleachers were pulled out and teachers were making sure their students were showing up. The ones that did not have a third period, such as Ruka, were being marked down by Mondo himself. Yuga and his friends managed to find a spot halfway up the bleachers, and while everyone was murdering to each other in wonder of what was going on, they were for the most part silent, already having a good idea of what was to be announced that day.

"Greetings, my students," Mondo finally spoke, silencing the mummers and whispers. "I won't keep you too long, but your third period will be canceled for the day due to the importance of this message, as well as the questions that you might want to ask after the announcement has been made. As you are all probably aware by now, a rumor has been spreading that there will be a city-wide dueling tournament coming after the Winter Break is over… this assembly was called to state that these rumors… are indeed true."

Excited mummers and whispers began to flare up once again, though with a hand raise from Mondo, they were silenced as quickly as they started. Mondo cleared his throat before continuing, "Several years ago, a dueling tournament called 'Battle City' was held in Domino, a city-wide tournament where participates competed for six locator cards and only once they obtained those six cards could they move on to a bracket style tournament where they were complete to become the King of Games. This tournament will function in a similar way, but as you are all no doubt aware, Union is too big to let every student participate without some selection process, and therefore I need to make the announcement that only 8 students will be allowed to represent Union in this tournament."

Angry shouts and groans came from the crowd, but one more hand raise, as well as some teachers threatening detention at the top of their lungs, silenced the students. Mondo sighed, before talking again. "Of course, every student here will get a chance to participate. Union will be holding its own elimination process, which will be told to students that sign up in an assembly just for them. Of course, Freshman are not allowed to participate, due to being too young. Juniors and above, however, will be allowed to sign up and enter this elimination round." The angry shouts of the Freshman were drowned out by the excitement of the upper classmen, before Mondo once again cleared his throat to silence the crowd. "I now dismiss you. Have a good rest of the day."

Yuga and the others wasted no time, immediately signing up and walking up to Takada, who blinked as the eight students gathered around him, before sighing and shaking his head. "Let me guess… you eight want in?"

"Of course," Yuga immediately nodded, grinning a little.

"You didn't really expect us not to enter, right teach?" Vince stated.

"You can't stop us either, so don't even try," Ruka said with a smile.

"We'll win the elimination round, and go all the way to the finals," Tamiko said with a nod.

Takada shook his head again, but was smiling all the same. "Kinda figured that this would happen, hence why I was ready for this." He pulled out his duel pad, and with a few taps, looked up at the eight friends. "Done. All eight of you are signed up for the elimination rounds. In a week, another assembly will be held where we will explain how the elimination round will work, and after that, the eight students who make it past that will be called to Mondo's office directly to be told how the tournament will work. Of course, don't expect it to be all eight of you."

"We weren't, sir," Shin confirmed.

"But we know Lennox is up to something, and the eight of us want to stop it," Roku declared.

"Even if just one of us makes it to the main event, it's better then doing nothing," Asami stated.

"We're fully prepared for whatever comes our way," Naomi said.

"Good," Takada nodded at them. "Then I will hold you to that."

XxXxXxX

"Surprising how little people are at the card ship, isn't it?" Yuga asked, opening the door to the small building next to Union's campus.

"Though at least there are a few students," Ruka said, before suddenly she realized that she had never seen them before. "But they aren't Union students, that's for sure." Upon speaking that, two of them immediately saw them, and walked over. Yuga recognized immediately they were wearing silver badges on their chests, with the words K.I.D on them.

"You are Yuga, aren't you?" the first one spoke. He had spikey silver hair with matching silver eyes, with grey jeans and a white shirt with a matching hood pulled over his head. His black gym shoes stopped just in front of Yuga's own shoes, a smile on the kid's face as he held out his hand. "Silverio Wyndria, from the Kaiba Institute of Dueling. A pleasure to meet a fellow chosen one."

"Chosen one?" Yuga asked, shaking his hand.

"Ignore him," the second kid spoke, adjusting the same badge on his blue coat, a red undershirt underneath it which blended in nicely with his white slacks and black dress boots. He had black hair with blue accents, which he swept to the side of his face before also shaking Yuga's hand. "Zero Hasama, Fusion Duelist expert at K.I.D."

"Is K.I.D in the tournament as well?" Asami asked, eying their badges.

"Yes," Silverio nodded, still smiling. "Fitting, isn't it? That we are in this tournament together, Yuga."

"Does he always smile like that?" Tamiko asked, hiding a bit.

"Yeah, forgive him," Zero said, shaking his head. "He doesn't believe that people want to talk with someone with a negative expression on their face." Zero then smirked, crossing his arms. "Still, can't believe it's actually happening, I mean I heard the rumors but to think that Union and K.I.D are going to go at it in this tournament. Since we are the best two duel schools, it's only natural that this tournament would be happening between us, huh?"

"You aren't the only school partaking, you know?" a voice said. Everyone turned to see a teen standing there with two other teenagers, each one wearing a golden badge with 'North Academy' engraved on it. The teen that spoke had his arms crossed, glaring at Zero with his blue eyes, his white spiked hair framing his face with two bangs on either side. He wore a white jacket that floated just off the ground, with a greyish silver shirt underneath, a blue and purple pendent around his neck. He wore similar colored pants to his shirt, as well as white boots. "Union and K.I.D maybe strong, but North Academy doesn't exactly train slackers."

"And you are?" Naomi asked.

"Leonidas Marsh, but you can call me Leo," the boy said. "This here is Arata Sokudo." He gestured to the boy next to him, who was just quietly watching. He had short, dark green hair with lighter tips, as well as jade, almond-shaped eyes, wearing a sea green shirt sleeved t-shirt worn over a black hoodie, with dark jeans, white socks and crimson red sneakers. He also had earbuds in his ear, farther distancing himself from the conversation. "He's shy but is one of the best North Academy offers."

"And you are?" Asami asked, gesturing to the final member of their trio.

"My name is Sayaka Asahina," the girl said. She had navy blue hair with teal highlights, reaching down to her waist. She eyed Asami with shimmering green eyes behind black, thick rimmed glasses. She was very fit, currently wearing a red tracksuit as if she just came from a run. "Teacher assistant and mentor."

"More like Teacher Pet," Leo muttered, earning himself a glare from Sayaka, which he ignored. "Anyway, you guys better not count North Academy out. To underestimate us wouldn't be smart of you."

"Aren't you guys forgetting the FOURTH best duel school here?" another voice said. This one belonged to a kid with short, spikey orange hair along with red eyes. He wore a red t-shirt with a black shill with green eyes that almost looked like they would glow in the dark, and a black best which was opened, revealing golden trimming. He also had ripped jeans, with white and black sneakers. "You can't have a tournament without South Acadmeny, right?"

"Fourth best? Way to make us look bad. Anyway, he's Rex Blazing and I'm Lucius Tomas," the boy next to him said. He was wearing a lose short sleeved black shirt with tan cargo shorts that went down to his knees, with black sneakers that had blue laces on them. He also wore an archaeology hat around his next, almost like he had pulled it out of an anime. "The other guy is Jirago Zilla."

Shin looked to where he was gesturing to see a kid with dark brown hair, brown rectangular glasses and dark brown eyes, which were locked onto him. He wore a blue outfit with silver designs. "Your Jirou's brother? I am very sorry."

"Huh?" Shin asked, looking confused.

"Wow, so many students in one place," Yuga said in awe, though even he could recognize there was tension in the room, as several of the students were just glaring daggers at one another and even at them, other then Arata, who seemed to be listening to music and slowly gesturing towards the door. Suddenly the shop keeper cleared his throat, drawing the attention of all 16 teenagers.

"As much as I love you all as customers, I am afraid loitering isn't allowed in my store. If you have already bought something, please leave."

"Come on, guys," Leo muttered. "Let's go, teach said he wanted us back by the time lunch was over." He left the store, followed closely by Arata and Sayaka.

"Yuga, let us meet again," Silverio nodded, turning to leave along with Zero, who was eyeing them all as he left.

"Geez, those K.I.D students are always a pain," Rex muttered, sticking out his tongue. "Just because of their ace duelist."

"Ace duelist?" Yuga asked.

"You didn't hear this from us," Lucius muttered. "But Lennox's son attends K.I.D, and he is stated to be the strongest dueling in Fortune City. Rumor has it that Lennox organized this whole tournament just so his son can be Dueling Champion."

"You cannot trust him," Jurago muttered, looking suspicious. "Still, he is a worthy opponent, and is probably the strongest one out of all of us here. Anyway, let's go guys. May we meet again under better conditions, Union students."

"You think that's true?" Ruka asked, as South Academy left. However, as they did, another student from K.I.D entered the shop, and as he did, Rex turned around caught eyes with Yuga, and pointed to the kid that just entered, as if holding a sign that screamed 'Lennox's son'.

"Only one way to find out," Yuga grinned, racing up to the kid with the suit on. "You're Lennox's kid, right?"

The boy looked at him with an air of importance surrounding him. "Patrick Lennox. You are Yuga, correct?"

Yuga nodded, taking out his duel pad and activating it. "This is perfect! Let's have a warm up duel before the tournament, so I can see how good you really are!"

"OUTSIDE WITH THAT!" the shop keeper yelled. Patrick scoffed, leaving the store, though he was followed out by Yuga and the others. He stopped and looked at Yuga before turning on heel, taking out a blue duel pad which ignited a brown blade. "You know what? Sure, let's go. It'll be a good warm up before the elimination round at K.I.D."

"Duel!"

Yuga: 4000 vs Patrick: 4000

"I'll start!" Yuga said, grinning ear to ear. "I'll begin by activating the spell card Pendulum Token Party! This spell card allows me to place two tokens inside my Pendulum Zones which act as Pendulum Monsters, however if the spell card is destroyed, the tokens are also destroyed and I take 1000 life points in damage. So, come forth, my Pendulum Tokens!"

Two orbs of light, one with a 1 in the center of it, and one with an 8 in the center of it, appeared on either side of Yuga in a column of light blue energy.

"I see, Yuga can set up a Pendulum to summon monsters from level 2 to 7 with only one card!" Ruka gasped in awe.

"But it's a risky play," Naomi stated. "First, there are no Pendulum effects that Yuga can take advantage off with those tokens, and second Yuga will lose 1000 life points and both his Pendulum Tokens if that spell card is destroyed. Not only that, but he sacrifices a spell and trap zone for that card. The advantage of only needing one card to set up the conditions for a Pendulum Summon is nice, but it's a risky play overall."

"Now I Pendulum Summon!" Yuga declared. "Come forth, the level 4 Performapal Uni (800/1500), level 4 Dragonpulse Magician (1800/900), and my most loyal monster… level 7 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (2500/2000)! Now I overlay my level 4 Performapal Uni and my level 4 Dragonpulse Magician! Formed from pitch black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon (2500/2000)! I place one card facedown and end my turn! You're up!"

"A solid start," Roku noted. "Yuga has two powerful monsters out of the gate, and a facedown that could be anything. Not only that, but Dark Rebellion can use his ability on any monster Patrick decides to summon, provided Yuga can keep him alive that is."

"But if Patrick Lennox is truly the ace the other students claim he is, Yuga might be in for a tough time," Tamiko muttered.

"Come on, Yuga," Shin whispered to himself.

Patrick closed his eyes and drew a card, opening them to look at the card before putting it in his hand. "That's your opening move? Ok… I activate the spell card, Spell Mimicry!"

"Uh, and that does…?" Yuga asked.

"It's all in the title," Patrick claimed. "I can mimic one spell card activated by you that is either on the field or in your graveyard. If it is continuous spell that remains active when it is on the field, Spell Mimicry remains on the field and continuously copies the effect. I'm sure even you can figure out what spell card I am going for here. Spell Mimicry activates Pendulum Token Party!"

"So, Patrick can Pendulum Summon now as well!" Tamiko gasped.

"Now I declare Pendulum Summon, so come forth from the portal of destiny!" Patrick shouted. "I Pendulum Summon, level 4 Guardian of Felgrand (500/500), and my level 4 Paladin of Felgrand (1700/300)!" A muscular man wielding an axe and a feminine looking man wielding a sword appeared on the battlefield, facing down Yuga's monsters.

"He's going for an Xyz Summon as well?" Asami asked, shocked.

"No…" Vince muttered. "I've heard of Felgrand before. I think he's going for a tribute summon."

Patrick pulled a card from his hand, starting at it for a moment before looking at Yuga, his eyes flashing. "Now for my ace. Dragon of light, shine and become the beacon of hope!" He held up the card, which seemed to glow with golden light. Yuga and the others had to shield their eyes, as the two monsters on Patrick's side of the field vanished, becoming golden orbs of light and flying into the card. "I sacrifice two monsters to summon my level 8, Felgrand Dragon (2800/2800)!" A column of golden light shot from the ground, before vanishing. In it's place, a golden dragon with a spiked silver jaw stood there, roaring in fury.

"Felgrand Dragon!?" Yuga gasped, looking up at the beast.

"It's more powerful then either Odd-Eyes or Dark Rebellion!" Ruka said in shock.

"Felgrand Dragon, vaporize Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" Patrick declared.

"Not so fast," Yuga shouted, pressing his duel pad and activating a trap card. "I activate the trap card, Negate Attack! Your attack is canceled, and my monsters are safe!"

Patrick huffed at that, "It matters not. I set three cards facedown and end my turn."

"Three facedowns?" Shin moaned.

"Yuga is going to have to be careful here," Roku stated. "Those can be anything."

Yuga, however, smirked. "It doesn't matter, because whatever they are, they won't stop me!" Yuga drew his card. "I activate the special effect of Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! By detaching two of his overlay units, I can-"

"Trap activate," Patrick suddenly declared, cutting Yuga off. "Xyz Fall! This trap card automatically forces your Xyz Monster to lose all overlay units attached to him before your effect even activates!"

"Himura used that card against Yuga, didn't he?" Asami asked.

"Yes," Roku confirmed, nodding. "It is a very rare trap card that is useful in anti-Xyz decks. I wouldn't be surprised if Patrick has it in his deck just because he can afford to buy it."

 _Only one monster can really help me now…_ Yuga thought, sighing as he stared at the only card in his hand. "Alright, guess I got no choice! I activate the spell card, The Phantom Knights of Possession! An Xyz Monster on my side of the field is treated as having a level equal to another monster on my side of the field! Using Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, I grant Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon a level of 7!"

 _That's it,_ Patrick thought, though his expression remained as stolid as ever.

"I overlay my level 7 Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and my level 7 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuga shouted, the two monsters turning into dark orbs and flying into a vortex that appeared. "Dragon with dual colored eyes, resurrect from the deep darkness. With the flame of rage, incinerate everything on earth! Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 7! Supreme King Violent Dragon, Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon (3000/2500)!" Yuga's eyes changed just then, from his standard golden to the red and green duel colored eyes, a dark aura surrounding him instantly. "Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon's special effect activates! By detaching 1 Overlay Unit from Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon, I can destroy every card you control and have my beast gain 200 attack for each one until my end phase!" Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon roared, sending out streaks of fiery light from his wings before rapidly spinning, causing all of Patrick's cards to vanish, including Felgrand Dragon who let out a roar of pain. "With 4 cards and two tokens destroyed, Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon gains 1200 attack points. Furthermore, because Spell Mimicry was copying Pendulum Token Party, you lose 1000 life points (Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon: 3000/2500 - 4200/2500, Patrick: 4000 - 3000)!"

"So, this is the power of your deck," Patrick muttered, smirking a little. "I can see now why father fears you."

"Your dad is afraid of me?" Yuga asked, his angry expression signature to his dark mode still there, but confusion mixed in.

"As you are probably aware, my father wants what is best for me, and is afraid that you might block my path to acceding to the top of the dueling world," Patrick explained. "This tournament was set up so that I may claim the title of Duel Champion, but father is worried that you might pose a threat to that."

"Is that really all there is to it?" Vince asked in a suspicious tone.

"You make it sound like father and I have a secret plot," Patrick stated, but nevertheless he shrugged. "But oh well, I over-estimated you it seems."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Yuga asked, his eyes flashing as his aura flared. "You have no cards on the field, and even if you did, my Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon can attack twice this turn, so if you blocked the first attack, he would just attack you again!"

"Try it," Patrick taunted, looking smug.

Yuga hissed a little, "Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon, attack Patrick directly!" Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon roared, but suddenly stopped in it's tracks, struggling to move. "What?"

Patrick smirked, a card coming out of his duel pad. He held it up, revealing a trap card with a shadowed ghost like figure on it. "The traps you sent to the graveyard are called Defense Shades, very powerful creatures. When activated, the trap card automatically immobilizes a monster and stops it from attacking for a single turn."

"But they were destroyed!" Yuga retorted.

"Allow me to explain. Defense shades are banished when used," Patrick stated. "This drawback, however, grants them a powerful ability to be activated from either the field or the graveyard!"

"No way!" Yuga gasped.

"Is that true?" Shin asked Roku.

"Truth be told, I never heard of that card," Roku stated. "But since both duel pads accepted it, I am guessing it is true."

"One defense shade is banished, but I got another in my graveyard." Patrick explained. "Not that it matters, you have already lost."

"What does that mean?" Yuga hissed. "If I remember correctly, you got nothing on your field!"

"End your turn, and we will find out." Patrick explained. Yuga said nothing, but the stats of Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon dropped back to normal (Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon: 4200/3000 - 3000/2500). "Then it is my turn!" Patrick declared, drawing a card. "I activate the spell card Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards! Then I activate Graceful Charity, which lets me draw three cards as long as I discard two." Patrick smirked as he discarded his two cards, looking at the remaining cards in his hand with confidence. "Now, I activate the spell card, Monster Reborn! This let's me revive my most faithful monster, Felgrand Dragon!" Felgrand appeared on the battlefield, but suddenly a white aura surround both him and Patrick.

"What's going on?" Yuga asked, looking shocked.

"Felgrand Dragon is a special monster that grows stronger when he is vanquished, Yuga," Patrick explained. When he is revived, he gains attack equal to one monster's level in my graveyard times 200! The monster I picked to fuel my Felgrand Dragon is Yubel – Terror Incarnate, a level 11 monster, which means my Felgrand Dragon gains 2200 attack points (Felgrand Dragon: 2800/2800 - 5000/2800)!"

"5000 attack points!?" Yuga asked in shock.

"But that wouldn't finish you off would it?" Patrick asked, reaching to grab the final card in his hand. "I activate the spell card, Megamorph! When my life points are lower then yours, my monsters attack points are doubled (Felgrand Dragon: 5000/2800 - 10000/2800)! Ten thousand points… that is more then enough to send your Odd-Eyes to the grave… now, Felgrand Dragon, wipe out Yuga's Odd-Eyes and the rest of his life points!" Felgrand Dragon roared, gathering light inside of his mouth. Yuga braced for impact, as suddenly Felgrand Dragon shot out a beam of light that vaporized Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon, sending Yuga flying back (Yuga: 4000 - 0).

Patrick Wins!

"Yuga!" his friends shouted in concern. Yuga began sitting up, his eyes returning to their standard golden color.

"I'm ok," Yuga hissed in pain, his hands supporting his body as he held himself up, looking at Patrick, who merely grunted and began walking away.

"I was right, I didn't need to concern myself with you."

"Hey, we still got an entire tournament to go, buddy!" Yuga shouted after him, standing up. "Just you wait! This was only a warm up, next time we meet, I'll being my A game!"

Patrick stopped in his tracks, looking over his shoulder at Yuga. "Is that a fact? Then you better back your words up and be ready to face me… in the finals."

"The finals…" Yuga muttered, watching as Patrick walked away, a look of determination in his eyes as he stared at the back of the son of Lennox.

* * *

 **So in order, we got:  
Silverio Wyndria, submitted by Draen  
Zero Hasama, submitted by Shane Kor  
Leonidas (Leo) Marsh, submitted by Blaze Falcon  
Atara Sokudo, submitted by Fan of Kings  
Sayaka Asahina, submitted by EveryDayDueling  
Rex Blazing, submitted by Pokemonking0924  
Lucius Tomas, submitted by King of the Lion  
Jirago Zilla, submitted by D3lph0xL0v3r  
**

 **Thanks to you guys for letting me use these characters. Would've taken me forever to design alternative students, but your submissions made it easy. Like I said before, this was just an introduction chapter, so if you don't like how your character was really shown here, just wait. They will get dedicated chapters, along with one of two of my own characters, soon enough when the tournament officially starts. There, their backstory as well as decks will be explored, and more of their personality will really show through. It's kinda hard to show who you really are when you got four rival schools in one small store, isn't it?  
**

 **Until next time guys, see ya!**


	6. Date with Disaster part 1

**Thanks to pokemonking0924, Draen, Ethan Kironus, king of the lion, D3lph0xL0v3r, FanOfKings, CobraKazuma Shougi, and Rashiq484 for the reviews on Chapter 5. If you like my work, you guys should check out my other stories! They don't get the love that this story or YuGiOh Neo seem to get. Just a suggestion... but if you like Splatoon, Pokemon or DragonBall, then I got stories on those!**

 **No but seriously I would really appreciate it if you guys looked at and reviewed my other work. Who knows, maybe doing that would motivate me to update more often, wink wink.**

 **This chapter was up in the air for so long due to me not knowing what I really wanted to do. Yes, I needed to begin the eliminations for the tournament, but who to pit against who was the biggest question in my mind. Finally, I came to the conclusion that I needed to take Yuga out of the spotlight for awhile. Yes, he's the main character, but we got seven other main cast characters that need some love! So, without further ado, let's get Ruka and the girls some time in the spotlight with this chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

The freshman students were not happy that following week, as all the juniors and seniors were summoned the auditorium right before gym class to be told how the palmaris of the tournament were going to be held, and how the eight duelists that were going to represent the school were going to be decided. As they sat in class, mopping and pouting, not bothering to pay attention to Hotaru Honda as she attempted to teach Advanced Summoning, the red dressed woman practically gritting her teeth in frustration at a few students, the piece of chalk in her hand practically vaporizing as she wrote the date, October 1st, on the board. Meanwhile, Yuga and his friends were sitting front and center in the theater, as Principal Mondo was standing on the stage, looking out at the sea of students.

"Right then," Mondo cleared his throat, coming closer to the microphone. "Now, all of you students that are here have signed up for the tournament that Lennox is throwing in Fortune City."

"That's why we are here, dumbass!" a student in the back shouted. A few students laughed, but when Hirose seemed to teleport next to the student and began reprimanding him, the laugher stopped instantly.

"Yes, well, a little refresher doesn't hurt, now does it?" Mondo stated strictly. "Lennox's city-wide dueling tournament will begin after Winter Break is over, which will involve many of Fortune City's dueling schools. It is meant to replicate Battle City, a tournament of a similar style held in Domino City. As Union is too big to let every student participate without some selection process, only 8 students will be allowed to represent Union in this tournament, hence why you are all here, to learn how the selection process is going to take place." He grabbed the microphone from the podium and stepped to the side as a giant, white screen descended from the red curtains, lighting up with a bit of information. "Students here are currently being beamed a special program onto their Duel Pads, one which will monitor future duels that you take place in.

"Any student dueling another student with this program will instantly have the duel recorded, which will be judged in real time by the program and scored. Losing the duel will dock your score, while winning will increase it. Certain attributes will gain you more points shall you win, as well as being the difference between saving your score should you lose… or destroying it entirely. Winning every duel that you have within the two months before Winter Break begins does NOT guarantee you entry into the tournament should your duels not have good performance behind them. Every card you use will count in some way towards your overall score, and on the final Friday in December that you will be on Union Campus, we will gather again in this auditorium to announce the eight duelists that will represent Union in the tournament, and come January those eight will be partaking in the tournament, where they will receive further instructions on how the tournament will be run." Mondo paused before speaking again. "For now, head to your class. It will be a short class since you all had this assembly, but don't slack off just because of that."

Whispers and mummers filled the room as the students began shuffling out of the room one by one, among them Yuga and his friends, who were exchanging conversation of their own. Naomi was the first to speak, "I wonder how the program determines what is a good play, and what isn't?"

"Beats me, but whoever designed it must know what they are doing," Shin suggested, following the group as they reached the gymnasium. "Principal Mondo seemed very sure that the program was going to work, and pick the eight students most fit to participate in the tournament."

"If the tournament is anything like Battle City was, I guess we will be going after something like Locator Cards from that point on," Yuga thought aloud, shrugging. "I just hope that ante rule isn't in place. I'd hate to give up any cards if I happen to lose some duels."

"Like how you lost against Patrick Lennox," Vince chuckled, causing Yuga to glare at him in anger.

"Alright, settle down!" Ms. Kato shouted, clapping her hands together loudly. "Since it is a shortened period, you have free reign of what you want to do, as long as no one does anything too stupid!"

Of course, what else do you expect when you let loose a bunch of 16 to 18-year old teenagers with sports equipment? Next thing Ms. Kato knew, balls of various sizes and types were flying everywhere, and a few students were even Action Dueling, trying to get a head start on one upping the other students that were participating in the primaries of the tournament. Along the ones goofing off, to no one's surprise, was Yuga and Vince, but they weren't dueling, instead they had a baseball bat each, and were swinging them at one another like swords.

"I thought I said no goofing off!" Ms. Kato screamed, suddenly wide eyed and ducking as Yuga's bat got knocked out of his hand and flew right over her head. It was heading right for Ruka, who noticed it just in time to see it coming, but not in enough time to do anything about it.

That is when suddenly someone jumped in front of the bat, grabbing it with one hand and flexing with the other as he put his hand on his hip. He turned towards Ruka, grinning, showing off pearly white teeth and a chiseled chin. "That was close. Are you all right, love?"

"I'm… fine," Ruka muttered, looking at him strangely. "Who are you?"

"Chad Harrington," the guy said, flashing another grin. "Senior student, expert turbo duelist, and voted hottest student in last year's yearbook."

"Right…" Ruka said, walking past him. Chad looked shocked at her walking away from him and turned in shock to watch her walk right up to Yuga and Vince, who looked embarrassed under her glare. "What were you two thinking? I could've seriously been hurt!"

"Come on baby, don't waste your time on these immature losers," Chad said, immediately appearing next to her, and placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Ok, first, don't call me that," Ruka snapped, brushing his hand off her shoulder. "Second of all, these two 'losers' as you put it, are my friends, and the only one that can insult them for what they did is me."

"And me," Ms. Kato growled, angrily storming up to them. "Yuga, Vince, detention! I can't believe you two would be that irresponsible, why I oughta put in a write up for this and-" As Ms. Kato rambled, Chad tried to get Ruka's attention again, however the girl did not seem interested, forcing him to walk away after some time had passed, his brain racing as he thought about how to get her to notice him.

XxXxXxX

"Those two…" Ruka sighed, sitting on the couch in their apartment that night. "I swear, sometimes they can be the worst."

"Yeah, you could've been seriously hurt, ya know," Asami stated. "Well, if it wasn't for that Chad guy."

"Who is he anyway?" Ruka asked, looking over at her.

"Beats me," Naomi shrugged. "Though he did claim he was some sort of hot shot or something."

"Homecoming is around the corner, isn't it?" Tamiko asked, looking at the three of them. "He might be looking for a date with you."

Ruka shuttered at that, "As if! He may think he's all that, but he's anything but… I hope we never run into him again." Almost as if on cue, Ruka's duel pad rang. She looked confused at the number before answering it. "…hello?"

"Hey, doll," Chad's voice came from the other line, causing Ruka to pale and mutter a 'oh god not him'. "Listen girl, I was thinking that you are I would be a good match, so I was wonder if you wanted to go to-"

"No," Ruka snapped instantly. "Not interested in you, buddy. Thanks for saving me and all, but it's not like I owe you my life. It was a wooden bat, I might've gotten a bit hurt but it wouldn't have been anything too serious. Now, please go away."

Chad chucked at that, "Man, you really are a catch. Few girls deny me, in fact I don't think I've met a girl that's denied me yet, ya know. Tell you what, how about you and I duel? I win, you become my date to the dance. You win, you can do whatever you want."

"And what makes you think I will accept that?" Ruka asked, baffled. "I don't want to duel you, nor do I want to go to the dance with you. Plus, it's not like you're going to force me to duel you anyway."

"He would be good for racking up points though," Asami noted.

"Please, I'm still not dueling him," Ruka hissed.

"Alright, fine," Chad shrugged, looking behind him. "Guess these two are going to be sleeping here tonight, then."

At that, Ruka froze, glaring at the monitor. "Who do you have behind you? I swear if it's who I think it is, you're dead!"

"Take a guess, doll," Chad grinned, moving to reveal Yuga and Vince knocked out behind him. "Poor guys were so tired after detention that I thought I would walk them home but seems like we took a mis-turn and ended up in the Turbo Duel arena instead. Thought that maybe you could pick them up after our duel, but I guess they're gonna be SOL."

"You're an asshole!" Ruka snarled at the screen.

"So, what is it going to be?" Chad asked, slyly looking at her. "You going to duel me, or not?"

"Fine," Ruka huffed, standing up. "But I am doing this for them, not for you!"

XxXxXxX

"Man, this place is creepy at night," Naomi noted, as the four girls headed inside of the turbo dueling arena. There were barely any lights on, the only thing illuminating the place was the four flashlights that the girls had brought with them. Ruka was glaring angrily, looking around for any sign of Chad, but didn't have to look too long as suddenly spot lights illuminated themselves, making the four girls shield their eyes for a few moments before they looked over and saw Chad standing there next to a red duel runner and a blue duel runner. He was wearing a red jumpsuit, his brown hair covered by a red helmet.

"So, ready to ride?" Chad asked, looking smug.

"Where are Yuga and Vince?" Ruka asked, glaring at him.

"They're up in the booth," Chad noted, pointing. Sure enough, sitting knocked out inside the sound and lights booth were Yuga and Vince, slumped up against the back wall, still knocked out. "But I'm the only one with the key, and to get it you need to duel me. Regardless of win or lose, you will get the key, but remember our deal. If I win, I get to take you to homecoming as my date. If you win, you can do whatever you want."

"I won't lose to a creep like you," Ruka growled. "You can count on that!"

"Uh, you might want to go change first," Noami suggested. Taking Naomi's advice, Ruka headed off and changed into a blue jumpsuit that matched the bike, which she got on and pulled on a blue helmet.

"Let's go, baby!" Chad grinned his sly grin, revving the engine of his Duel Runner and putting his visor down. "I'll show you why I'm the best Riding Duelest of the senior class… nay, the whole school!"

"Don't call me baby," Ruka growled, putting the light blue visor over her eyes as she too revved the engine of the rental duel runner.

"Riding Action Duel… Acceleration!" Chad shouted, rushing forward with Ruka right behind him.

"Duel!"

Ruka: 4000 vs Chad: 4000

"Since I made it around the bend first, it's my turn," Chad grinned, suddenly leaning to the side and already snatching up an Action Card.

 _What?_ Ruka thought, shocked. _How did he see that?_

"I'll start my turn with the Action Magic: Acceleration!" Chad declared, putting the action card into the slot on the bike. "I can now draw one card! Next, I activate the continuous spell card, Ground Collapse! I can choose two Monster Card Zones, and until my card is destroyed, neither player can use them! But why would I choose my own? I pick your left most and right most monster zones!"

"With only three monster zones, Ruka must be careful about what she chooses to summon," Naomi muttered.

"Yet Chad can use all five of his zones," Tamiko thought outloud. "Which puts Ruka at a disadvantage."

"Now I summon a monster to the field," Chad declared. "Come forth, Ojama Yellow (0/1000)!" A burst of light shot forth from the ground, revealing an ugly, yellow gremlin monster with what looked like a red speedo on. His eyes were stringy and flopped around when he appeared and danced on the field.

"What… is that?" Ruka asked, looking at the creature in disgust. "No seriously, what is that?"

"Ojama?" Asami asked Naomi, looking confused.

"I can't be too sure," Naomi stated, looking confused as well. "I never heard of that monster before now."

"Finally, I place two cards facedown and end my turn," Chad declared, placing two cards on the field. "Your turn, doll."

"I told you to knock it off with the pet names!" Ruka shouted, drawing a card. "I activate the spell card Terraforming, which allows me to add one Field Spell from my deck to my hand, and of course I choose my Aroma Garden: Destiny spell card. Now, I activate my Aroma Garden: Destiny field spell card! If I control an 'Aroma' monster, I can gain 500 life points once per turn. Additionally, when I use this effect, all monsters I control instantly gain 500 attack and defense points until the end of your next turn! Unlike my regular Aroma Garden field spell, I don't gain 1000 life points when an 'Aroma' monster is destroyed, but in exchange this card cannot be destroyed!"

Chad grinned, "Flowers for me? You're sweet."

Ruka glared at him, "These flowers aren't just for looking pretty, Chad! Now I summon my Aromage Cananga (1400/1000)!" A blonde-haired girl with red eyes appeared, wearing a brown outfit with a green scarf and bag. "And since she's an Aroma monster, I can activate Aroma garden to gain 500 life points, as well as increase my monster's attack power (Aromage Cananga: 1400/1000 - 1900/1500; Ruka: 4000 - 4500). Now, I activate the special effect of my Aromage Cananga! If my life points are higher than yours, your monsters all lose 500 attack and defense points (Ojama Yellow: 0/1000 - 0/500)! Additionally, since I just gained life points, one spell or trap card on your field is destroyed, and I choose Ground Collapse!" The spell card burst into dust, causing Chad to cover his face with his arm.

"Awesome, now Ruka freed up her monster zones!" Tamiko cheered.

"Get him, Ruka!" Asami cheered loudly.

"Wait, his face downs!" Naomi suddenly shouted in a panic.

"Aromage Cananga, attack his Ojama Yellow!" Ruka declared.

Chad grinned his signature smug grin, as he tapped the duel pad on his bike. "Trap activate, Mirror Force! Your monster is destroyed instantly, and I take no damage from your attack!" Aromage Cananga slammed into a magical mirror that appeared, exploding instantly.

 _He baited me. I hate to admit it, but this guy isn't as bad of a duelist as I thought he was._ Ruka hissed, clenching her teeth before pulling two cards from her hand. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn."

"Since your Aromage is gone, my Ojama Yellow's points returns to normal (Ojama Yellow: 0/500 - 0/1000)!" Chad declared, drawing a card. "And now it's my turn! First, I activate the spell card White Elephant's Gift. My sacrificing one face-up non-Effect Monster I control, I can draw two cards, so I sacrifice my Ojama Yellow!" The yellow creature looked in shock as he exploded, and as Chad drew two cards. "Now, I play the spell card Graceful Charity! I can draw three cards, as long as I discard two, and lookie here… the two cards I will discard are my Ojama Green and Ojama Black!"

"More Ojamas?" Asami said in disgust.

"Why did he declare what he was discarding?" Naomi asked. "You don't have to do that."

"Unless he's summoning them to the field from the grave!" Tamiko realized.

"Your pink haired friend is right," Chad grinned, playing another card. "I activate the spell card Tri-Wright! I can now target three Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters that are in my graveyard and summon them to the field! Come forth, Ojama Yellow, Ojama Green (0/1000), and Ojama Black (0/1000)!" Along with Ojama Yellow emerging in a burst of light, out game a green looking creature and a black fat one, both wearing the same red speedo. The green one had only one eye and a long tongue, and the black one had large teeth and some snot coming from his nose.

"What repulsive creatures," Ruka shuttered. "But only someone as repulsive as you could use them, I guess."

"Ouch, that hurt babe," Chad stated. "Here, maybe they'll grow on you! I activate the trap card Ojama Trio! With this, an Ojama Yellow, Ojama Green, and Ojama Black token are summoned onto your field in defense mode, each with 1000 defense points and no attack points." A copy of each Ojama appeared on Ruka's field, seeming to admire her, though the green haired duelist only looked at them in disgust. "Hope you like them, because they can't be tributed, and each time one is destroyed you take 300 life points in damage!"

 _Great, not only are these things useless, but each one destroyed hurts my life points._ Ruka thought.

Chad grinned looking back at her, before turning to his hand and pulling a card from it. "Not up to your style, hun? Not to worry, cause now it's time to activate the pièce de résistance of my plan," Chad grinned, playing another card. "Ojama Country! This powerful field spell allows me to send one Ojama monster from my hand to my graveyard every turn to special summon a Ojama monster from my graveyard. Furthermore, when I control a face up Ojama Monster, the original attack and defense points of all monsters are switched (Ojamas x6: 0/1000 - 1000/0)."

"Oh no!" Noami realized something just then. "That means the tokens all have no defense, while his Ojamas each have 1000 attack!"

"And due to Ojama Trio, Ruka will take 300 life points of damage for each one destroyed," Tamiko pointed out.

"Go, my Ojamas!" Chad declared, with his three Ojamas comedically getting inflated muscles as Ruka's Ojama tokens cowered in fear. "Attack her tokens now, and while I am at it, I'll activate the spell card, Ojama Haven! For the rest of the turn, you cannot activate any spell or trap cards!" The three original Ojamas charged, tackling the tokens into a dust cloud. The three tokens eventually flew out and slammed into Ruka, exploding when colliding with her (Ruka: 4500 - 3600). The Ojama Trio trap disappeared from the field then, with no tokens left it had no use. "I'll place one card facedown and end my turn."

 _What is with this deck?_ Ruka through, glaring at the three Ojamas. _They're level 2 shrimps with no attacking power at all, yet I'm losing to them!_ She shook her hand, putting the thought aside "My turn! I summon Aromage Jasmine (100/1900 - 1900/100). How do you like that? Thanks to her point total, your Ojama Country is being used against you!"

"Alright, nice play, Ruka!" Naomi shouted, as Chad grit his teeth.

"Don't forget she's also an Aroma monster, so I can activate Aroma Garden, increasing her attack points further and adding to my life points!" Ruka declared, as she and Aromage Jasmine glowed with a green light for a few moments (Ruka: 3600 - 4100; Armoage Jasmine: 1900/100 - 2400/600). Jasmine, attack his Ojama Black now!"

"Trap activate, Waboku!" Chad declared. "For this turn, I take no battle damage, and my monsters cannot be destroyed!" Aromage Jasmine flew forward and attempted to kick Ojama Black, but the black creature blocked, winking at Jasmine, who got freaked out and ran back to her place on the field, shuttering a little at what just happened.

"I'll end my turn there," Ruka hissed.

"Then it's my turn again," Chad declared, drawing a card. "And sadly, our time together is about to run out, babe. I activate the spell card, Pot of Greed, which-"

"Let's you draw two cards," Ruka hissed, looking annoyed. "We all know what it does!"

Chad huffed, grinning again, and winking at her. "Well, then Ms. Smarty Pants, I'm sure I don't have to explain this next card either. I play the magic card, Polymerization! I can now fuse together my Ojama Yellow, Ojama Green and my Ojama Black! The king descends to rule over Ojama Country, now behold his wonder as he comes to us! Fusion Summon! Behold, his mighty glory! Level 6, Ojama King (0/3000 - 3000/0)!" Ruka gasped, looking up at the creature that towered over her. The king had a large white body, having the same eyes as Ojama Yellow along with a wide grin with pink lips, a red speedo, and a green cape.

"I didn't think they would fuse together," Asami said, a look of disgust on her face.

"With Ojama Country in play, that's 3000 attack points staring down at Ruka," Naomi pointed out.

"With my Ojama King in play, you cannot use three of your monster zones," Chad declared. "Now, I activate the spell card Tri-Wright! I'm sure you already know what it does, but in case you need a refresher, I can now target three Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters that are in my graveyard and summon them to the field. Come forth, my Ojamas!" Once again, Ojama Yellow, Ojama Green and Ojama Black appeared on the field, dancing in joy at their revival. "But they won't be around long," Chad stated, causing them to look horrified. "Because I activate the spell card, Ojamuscle! Every Ojama monster on my field except for my Ojama King is destroyed, and he gains 1000 attack points for every Ojama destroyed this way!" Ojama King flexed, which instantly caused the other Ojama on the field to bow to him before exploding into glitter, which flew into Ojama King and was absorbed by him (Ojama King: 3000/0 - 6000/0). "Now, Ojama King, destroy Aromage Jasmine!"

"Trap activate, Soul Anchor!" Ruka declared, pressing her duel pad's screen, and activating the card. "When this card is equipped to my monster, it cannot be destroyed by battle, nor can it change battle position!"

"But you still take battle damage!" Chad pointed out, as Ojama King punched Aromage Jasmine, causing her to shrink in pain, and Ruka to grit her teeth as she lost life points (Ruka: 4100 - 500). "Now, I end my turn with one card facedown, which causes your Aroma Garden's buff to run out on your Jasmine (Aromage Jasmine: 2400/600 - 1900/100). Also, I am sure I don't need to tell you this, but you might have noticed that my King still retains his 6000 attack points."

"No way, that thing still has his large attack?" Naomi gasped, looking surprised.

"I thought his Ojama monsters were a joke, but that creature is so powerful," Asami whispered with awe.

"6000 attack points, and I get the sinking feeling that he has another Ojamuscle card waiting to increase it further," Tamiko groaned.

"You can't win, babe! So just surrender to me!"

To be continued…

* * *

 **Edit: Changed Aroma Card to a new card, Aroma Garden: Destiny. Forgot that Ruka would gain life points whenever an Aroma monster is destroyed.**


	7. Date with Disaster part 2

**I'm actually surprised I could muster the ability to crank out this chapter, especially since I am drowning in Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion hype!**

 **No but seriously, does anyone have an oxygen tank? I might die at this rate...**

 **Thanks to Draen, king of the lion, D3lph0xL0v3r, and pokemonking0924 for reviewing Chapter 6; as well as a VERY special thank you to pokemonking0924 for reviewing Chapters 7 through 11 of my Pokemon story. You're the real MPV dude!**

 **That being said, enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Duel in progress…. Ruka: 500 vs Chad: 4000

"You can't win, babe," Chad grinned. "Not only do I have a huge life point lead, but my Ojama King has 6000 attack points thanks to my Ojamuscle card and Ojama Country. Not only that, but your Soul Anchor card keeps your Aromage in attack mode, so she's just a punching bag! You might want to surrender to me, I promise that I'm a good dancer." He winked again, causing Ruka to shutter.

"Get real," Ruka shouted, drawing a card. "The only thing I will be dancing to is the sound of your defeat! First, I activate Aroma Garden: Destiny, restoring my life points and increasing the power of my monsters (Ruka: 500 - 1000, Aromage Jasmine: 1900/100 - 2400/600)!" Ruka sighed, closing her eyes and trusting the auto-pilot of the bike. _All right, so a good place to start is either by destroying that Ojama Country card, or finding a way to destroy that Ojama King…_ She then looked at her hand, sighing. "Here goes! I activate the card I have facedown, Humid Winds! Whenever my life points are lower than yours, I gain 500 life points (Ruka: 1000 - 1500)! Now, I can sacrifice 1000 life points thanks to my Humid Winds trap (Ruka: 1500 - 500) to add an Aroma monster from my deck to my hand! I can only use each of these effects one per turn, however."

"Whatever she was going for, I hope it was worth it," Tamiko muttered in worry.

Ruka looked at the monster she added to her hand, which was her Aromage Rosemary. "Okay… I play the spell card, Double Summon! Thanks to this, I can summon two monsters to my field instead of one!"

"But you can only use two of your monster zones at a time," Chad reminded her. "My Ojama King's effect seals off three of your monster zones, so you can only summon one additional monster."

Ruka smirked at that, "Well, good thing Double Summon doesn't force me to use both summons right away! Now, my first summon! Come forth, Aromage Rosemary (1800/700 - 700/1800 - 1200/2300)! Now, I activate the final card in my hand, Mystik Wok! I can tribute one monster I control and gain life points equal to that monster's attack or defense, and I chose my Aromage Jasmine! Since she has 2400 attack points, I'll gain that as life points (Ruka: 500 - 2900)." Jasmine smiled towards Ruka, as she vanished into a flash of light, the same light flying into Ruka and surrounded her to restore her life points.

Chad smirked at that, "It matters not, your life is still lower than mine, and your girls don't stand a chance against my Ojama King!"

Ruka smirked at that, "Aromage Rosemary's special effect activates! Once per turn, if I gain life points when she is on the field, I can target one monster on the field and change its battle position, and since your Ojama King is the only one on your side of the field, let's choose him!"

"Wait, what!?" Chad panicked, as the King kneeled down and raised his arms in an X shape in front of him, but the muscle tone suddenly popped like a balloon, causing him to freak out.

"Since Ojama King has zero defense points due to Ojama Country, Ruka can destroy it with any monster she plays!" Asami said in excitement.

"Now I use my second summon that Double Summon granted me, come forth, Aromaseraphy Angelica (0/0 - 500/500)! Aromaseraphy Angelica, attack his Ojama King!" Ruka declared. The little pixie rushed forward, slamming into Ojama King and destroying it instantly, causing Chad to grit his teeth as a giant explosion occurred. "Now, Aromage Rosemary, attack his life points directly!" Aromage Rosemary waved her staff, and blue bubble bullets rushed toward Chad, slamming into him, and causing his bike to swerve a little bit (Chad: 4000 - 2800). Ruka grinned at that, catching up to him and riding right by his side, giving a piece sign at him with her left hand. "Now who's in the lead?"

"Nice play, Ruka!" Asami cheered, standing up and pumping her fist into the air.

"Not only is Chad's most powerful monster gone, but Ojama Country no longer affects the field since he no longer has an Ojama monster in play," Naomi explained.

"I'm not done yet!" Ruka smirked, looking forward on her bike. "Now, I tune my Aromaseraphy Angelica to my Aromage Rosemary!" Aromaseraphy Angelica became a single green ring and rose into the air, while Aromage Rosemary flew into it, becoming four stars. "Rosemary fills the air, and the gates to the garden open. The garden fairy blossoms into life! Synchro Summon! Level 5, Aromaseraphy Rosemary (2000/900 - 2500/14000)!" A version of Rosemary appeared with giant wings, before kneeling on a sideways card. "Aromaseraphy Rosemary's special effect activates! Whenever my life points are higher than yours, all Plant-type monsters I control gain 500 attack and defense points (Rosemary: 2500/1400 - 3000/1900)! Good luck getting past her!"

"Rosemary is in defense mode, which means Ruka has a 1900-point wall defending her," Naomi stated.

"I bet she put Rosemary in defense mode because he'll probably just summon another Ojama monster," Asami pointed out. "After all, that's all he's used up to this point, so it was smart of Ruka to prioritize defending her life points, especially since when Ojama country activates, Rosemary will have 3000 defense points."

"Let's just hope that Ojama King monster is gone for good," Tamiko whispered in worry.

Chad smirked, drawing his card. "My move!" He then spotted an Action Card, and snatched it up, adding it to his hand. "I think I'll take this as well, and active it! Action Magic: Reload! I can shuffle my hand into my deck and draw the same number of cards that I had, so I draw two cards." Chad smirked at them, turning to Ruka. "Alright, let's go! First, I summon my Ojama Red from my hand to the field (Ojama Red: 0/1000)! Because I got another Ojama creature, Ojama country changes switches that attack and defense of all monsters on the field (Ojama Red: 0/1000 - 1000/0; Aromaseraphy Rosemary: 3000/1900 - 1900/3000)."

"Oh great, there's more of them," Ruka groaned, looking at the creature. Ojama Red had angry looking eyes and a yellow scarf, along with the speedo all Ojama seemed to have.

"Unlike my other Ojama, Red has a special effect," Chad explained. "His ability allows me to summon up to 4 Ojama monsters from my hand to the field in attack mode, and even though I only have one, that's all I need. I summon Ojama Blue (0/1000 - 1000/0)!" A long faced Ojama with almond shaped eyes appeared, crossing his arms and puckering his purple lips.

"Please tell me that's it," Ruka groaned, looking appalled.

"Heh, not really," Chad said, bending down and swiping up an Action Card, which seemed to be stuck on his wheel. "Action Magic: Fusion!"

"W-what?" Ruka gasped, looking in shock. "How did you know that card was there?"

"That card has been caught on my wheel since you caused me to slide out with Rosemary's attack," Chad grinned, activating the card. "I saw it the moment I regained control and knew that I could use it. Since it wasn't technically in my hand, it still counts."

"Cleaver," Tamiko hissed. "He was technically holding two Action Cards, but he wasn't bending the rules due to it being caught on his tire."

"Babe, when you've been in Riding Action Duels for as long as I have, you gain great eyesight," Chad bragged, grinning. "Action Magic: Fusion lets me fuse two monsters on my side of the field, so I choose my Ojama Red and Ojama Blue! Ojama Defender that serves the king, appear, and aid me in this battle! Fusion Summon! Behold, the Ojama warrior! Level 5, Ojama Knight (0/2500 - 2500/0)!" The monster was an armored Ojama Yellow, but the speedo was on the outside. He had a dark green cape and was carrying a spiked shield. "Action Magic: Fusion has an additional effect, any monster summoned by its effect gains a permanent 1000 attack point bonus (Ojama Knight: 2500/0 - 3500/0), and my Ojama Knight also has the effect of sealing off two of your monster zones, so you can only have three monsters at a time! Now, Ojama Knight, destroy her Aromaseraphy Rosemary!" Ojama Knight charged forward widely failing his arms, before holding out his shield and slamming into Rosemary, who cried out as she was destroyed. "I end my turn with that!"

"Ruka…" Naomi muttered, concern filling her voice.

"This isn't looking good," Tamiko muttered. "With no cards in her hand, and only Aroma Garden: Destiny and Humid Winds on the field, Ruka needs to draw something really good to pull this off!"

"Come on, Ruka," Asami prayed.

Ruka looked at her deck, putting her fingers on the cards before breathing a heavy sigh. _Ok deck, don't let me down…_ She then drew her card, looking at the text for a moment before looking forward, smirking when she caught sight of something that Chad had not. "Bingo." She then raced forward, getting in front of Chad who looked confused for a moment before realizing she was going for an Action Card. She grabbed it and read it, grinning wider. "Action Magic: Fountain of Greed! This card lets me draw two additional cards from my deck and add them to my hand!"

"Alright, let's hope those three cards are just what Ruka needs!" Naomi cheered.

Chad grit his teeth, "How did I miss that card? I guess I was just careless…"

"I now activate the effect of my Humid Wind trap card," Ruka stated, the card glowing (Ruka: 2900 - 1900). "I can add one Aroma monster from my deck to my hand by sacrificing 1000 life points! Now, I play the spell card Pot of Greed letting me draw two cards, bringing my hand total to 4!" Ruka looked over her four cards before a smirk dashed across her face. "Ready to lose?"

"Chad Harrington never losses in a riding duel!" Chad declared, looking offended. "Nor does he ever lose at love!"

"First time for everything, isn't it?" Ruka asked, pulling a card from her hand and activating it. "First, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to be rid of your Ojama Country field spell for good!" A powerful gust of wind kicked up and blew away Ojama Country, causing Chad to gasp in fear (Ojama Knight: 3500/0 - 1000/2500).

"Oh no!" Chad gasped, staring in shock. "That card is the only thing that keeps my Ojama's strong!"

"Alright, with that gone, Ruka's monsters won't have their points switched anymore!" Asami cheered.

"Go, Ruka!" Tamiko shouted.

"I now play my second Double Summon spell card!" Ruka stated, activating the card. "With this, I can summon two monsters this turn instead of one! Come forth, Aroma Jar (500/400). Now, by sacrificing my Aroma Jar, I can tribute summon my Aromage Bergamot (2400/1800)!" A red-haired woman appeared, glaring at Ojama Knight, who looked frightened by her appearance.

"Nice try, babe," Chad grinned confidently. "But your woman is still too weak to wipe out my life points this turn. With her attack, I'll only lose half of my total life points!"

"Did you forget about my signature card, Aroma Garden: Destiny?" Ruka asked, activating the field spell's effect. "First, my life points are restored by 500 points (Ruka: 2900 - 3400)! Second, all my monster's gain 500 attack and defense points (Aromage Bergamot: 2400/1800 - 2900/2300)!"

"It's still not enough!" Chad declared, grinning as he rode.

"But I am not done!" Ruka declared, holding her hand forward. "The special effect of my Aromage Bergamot activates. If I gain life points, when she gains 1000 attack and defense points until the end of your next turn (Aromage Bergamot: 2900/2300 - 3900/3300)!"

"No!" Chad growled, looking scared at the monster on Ruka's field, before looking around widely for an Action Card, but there seemed to be none. "Now she's strong enough to wipe out my life points!"

"Go, my Aromage Bergamot!" Ruka commanded. "Wipe out his Ojama Knight and the rest of his life points!" Bergamot charged forward as Ojama Knight tried to run away, but the speed of the Aromage was faster, as she caught up to Ojama Knight with little effort, and with a mighty punch, destroyed him instantly (Chad: 2800 - 0).

Ruka Wins!

Chad slid out of control as smoke bellowed from his red bike, the senior student barely managing to stay on the bike as it skid to a halt. He growled in frustration, before getting off in a huff and taking off his helmet, throwing it onto the ground where it bounced off, rolling away slightly. His fists were clenched, his teeth bared in rage. "How… how did I lose?"

Ruka rode up to the sight, taking off her helmet and glaring at Chad with a look of distaste. "We had a deal, remember? Surrender the keys to the lights and sound booth and give us back Yuga and Vince."

Chad huffed, taking the keys out of his pocket and throwing them at Ruka, who caught them with little effort. "Don't think I am done with you," Chad hissed, glaring angrily. "You will be mine one day, Ruka!"

"No, she won't be," a voice suddenly said. Chad turned in his anger to see Roku and Shin had arrived, walking into the stadium, the silver haired teen wearing a look of fury. "And I advise you to stay away from my sister from now on."

"Roku!" Ruka gasped, smiling with glee.

"Oh yeah?" Chad growled, tightening his fists as if intending to punch Roku. "And who is going to make me?"

"If anything, we are going to make you," a deep voice said. Chad turned, paling instantly, and looking panicked as Mondo walked into the stadium, along with Takada. "Seems like you've really done it this time, Chad Harrington."

"P-principal Mondo?" Chad gasped, backing away slightly. "V-vice Principal Takada? What are you two doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Takada muttered, glaring at him, and adjusting his glasses. "Though there is no need to since we already have seen the whole thing." He turned to Ruka and her friends, who had joined them from the stands. "Why is it that whenever anything seems to happen at this school, it's been you guys?"

"We ask ourselves that a lot," Shin admitted, shrugging.

"Regardless, that was impressive dueling, Ruka," Mondo praised her, before turning to Chad. "And I would say the same to you, except you do have a laundry list of criminal activity beneath you right now. Battery, kidnapping, trespassing, stealing… stalking… all this for a date?"

Chad seemed to snap at that, getting on his knees and crawling up to Mondo, kissing the hem of his pants. "P-please, I'll do anything! Just don't turn me in! I can't get kicked off the Turbo Dueling Team!"

"Anything," Takada repeated, thinking a bit to himself. "First, you'll be serving detention for breaking and entering in the Turbo Dueling facility."

"Y-yes sir," Chad muttered, gritting his teeth a little.

"As for the second thing," Mondo stated, giving a sly smirk. "I believe we have something that might just work."

XxXxXxX

"I almost feel sorry for him," Yuga muttered, sweat dropping a little. He and his friends were standing inside of the gym where the Homecoming dance was being held, wearing the same outfits as last time. This time, Tamiko had joined them, wearing a pink dress which matched her hair almost perfectly. They were all looking at Chad, who was wearing a janitor's outfit, glaring angrily as he was cleaning out in the halls. The students did not seem to be making it any easier on him as they came in and left the gym, dropping various articles of trash in their wake for him to clean up.

"Well, he does deserve it," Ruka sighed, turning away. "He does have a rather large ego that needs to be put in its place."

"All's well that ends well, though," Asami said, grinning widely. "You beat Chad down, and got to take the man you actually wanted to take to Homecoming."

Ruka blushed at that, glaring at Asami. "For the last time, Asami, we went as a large group of friends and not as-"

Before she could say anything more, however, a slow song began to play. Asami grinned widely, grabbing Vince by the hand and practically dragging him onto the dace floor. "Come on, Vince!"

"The Vince is perfectly capable of walking, thank you!" Vince shouted at her, though he sighed as he was pulled onto the floor, accepting his fate.

"Just let it be, Ruka…. she won't listen away way," Roku sighed, before holding out his hand to Tamiko, smiling at her. "May I have this dance?"

Tamiko blushed a little but smiled all the same. "Of course," she replied, taking his hand as the two walked hand in hand onto the dance floor.

"This is just like last year, isn't it?" Ruka asked, looking nervous.

"We might we well go," Naomi said, blushing as she look Shin's hand. Shin did the same, but smiled a little as the two took off towards the dance floor, which was returned by a shy Naomi.

"Ah well," Yuga sighed, shaking his hand. "Despite several things changing within the last year, some things will always remain the same." He then held out his hand to Ruka, the green haired girl looking at it in shock. "At least this time, I can ask you myself."

Ruka nodded at that, giving a warm smile as she took Yuga's hand. "Yeah, that is true." The two headed off towards the dance floor, slow dancing along with their friends, as the song that played in the background gave them comfort in facing what lied ahead.


	8. A Special Kind of Training

**As always, I want to begin my thanking my reviewers. Thanks to king of the lion,** **D3lph0xL0v3r, Draen, Hawkatana, pokemonking0924, SSJC J and alblazing19 for your reviews on Chapter 7. Apologizes that this chapter took SO long to come out, I was distracted by several things: possible job change, work in general, and my creative writing skills pretty much wanting to focus on eveything BUT this story. Seriously, I had such awful writers block for this story that it was actually driving me nuts. I had no idea how to proceed and eventually I just thought: I need to give Shin some love.**

 **Since I had to pretty much force myself to write this chapter, it might not be that good... apologizes if that is the case. You can call it filler if you want.**

 **Speaking of filler, Naruto creative juices are flowing again... I am not sure why that series keeps drawing me back in, but meh might try my hand at a Naruto story again, just set in AU (due to the fact that I love the Uchiha and pretty much every Uchiha OC created is hated if they aren't in an AU story).**

 **Anyway, enough about that. Enjoy this chapter! By the way, there is a footnote at the bottom with some explanation about a certain card and why I decided to write it as such, so before you guys spam review me saying that was a mistake... read the note.**

* * *

"Alright, Shin," Yuga declared, standing in front of him. They were in the courtyard of the school, with Yuga glaring down at Shin with determination in his eyes. "Today, we are going to work on some extra special training!"

"Can't I just take a break?" Shin asked, smiling sheepishly. He was sitting on a bench in the center of the courtyard, fiddling with a leaf that he found on the ground.

"No breaks today, buddy," Yuga stated, looking at Shin. "You haven't even challenged anyone to a duel yet to begin earning points for entry into the tournament, and if you don't start at least practicing now, you aren't going to even be on the list!"

"You know, at first I was excited for this, but after seeing you duel Patrick, I don't think I'm cut out for it," Shin whaled a little. "Plus those other students we met in the shop all look very strong! I don't think I am cut out for it, Yuga!"

"Well, you heard the man," Vince sighed, shaking his head. "Sound like his mind is made up. Come on, Yuga, I can train with you."

"Now, hold on, Vince," Roku said, "I think Yuga has something to say about that."

Yuga sighed, shaking his head. "Come on, bro. You can't have that attitude. The eight of us all promised that we would enter, right? You don't want to break your promise."

Shin sighed, looking up at his friends. Seven eyes were staring at him, which caused Shin to immediately yelp, "You're all putting too much pressure on me!"

"Man, what a drag," Vince sighed, irritation radiating off him.

"Maybe we should not force him," Ruka suggested to Yuga.

"But the eight of us were going to enter all together," Yuga pouted sadly at Ruka.

"Forget about him!" a student suddenly declared, walking up to them. Everyone turned to her, instantly catching her brown hair and eyes, as well as a few freckles that dawned her face. She wore a green hoodie, with jeans and white shoes, and carried a black duel pad on her arm. "The tournament is going to test our dueling to the very limit, and a loser like that can't be repping out school!"

"And you are?" Naomi asked, glaring angrily at her.

"Amber McLane!" the newcomer declared, grinning. "Junior year, you guys sat in front of me in Advanced Summoning Methods, and trust me when I say that I know what I am talking about when it comes to that lump! Look at him, he's shaking like a leaf just at the thought of dueling in this tournament! That kind of attitude is going to make our school look bad!"

"You take that back!" Naomi shouted, fire practically shooting from her eyes. "Shin is a great duelist and would make the school proud! He… just has a problem with nerves is all!"

Amber huffed at that, shrugging. "More like a problem with his brain if you ask me."

"Why you-" Naomi was about to charge forward and exchange fists, but was caught and held back by Asami and Tamiko.

"I'll believe that he is strong when I see it," Amber declared, activating her duel pad, which came out as a green blade. "And you know exactly what I mean!"

"He accepts!" Yuga announced for Shin, who paled and instantly tried to talk Yuga out of it. "Listen, Shin. You need to stand up and prove yourself, ok? You are a great duelist, you just got a problem with nerves is all."

"But-" Shin was about to say.

"No buts!" Yuga snapped, causing Shin to flinch. "You got this!"

"You can do it, Shin!" Ruka smiled warmly.

"Believe in yourself," Tamiko encouraged him.

"Guys…" Shin whispered, before looking at bit braver, and nodding. "Alright… Amber, let's duel!"

Amber smirked confidently. "I was hoping you'd agree. Alright then, let's make it an Action Duel!"

"A-Action Duel?" Shin gasped, paling again. One of his biggest weaknesses was physical activity.

"Well, yeah," Amber said, as platforms appeared around them. "The duels coming up in the tournament are going to be all sorts of types, including Actions Duels! WE might as well practice, right?"

"I-I guess?" Shin muttered, activating his duel pad.

Amber looked very confident as she drew her five cards. "In fact, I'll even handicap myself! I won't move from this spot at all!"

"I-if you say so," Shin drew his five cards as well, his knees shaking a bit as he faced Amber.

"Action… Duel!"

Shin: 4000 vs Amber: 4000

"You make the first move," Amber declared.

"Smart," Roku pointed out. "With that, she effectively made sure it'll be harder for Shin to get out his Cyber Dragons with their effect."

"Okay then… I guess I'll start," Shin muttered unconfidently. "I activate the spell card Double Summon! With this, I can Normal Summon twice this turn instead of just one time. Now I summon my Cyber Dragon Core (400/1500). When he is summoned to my side of the field, I can add one Cyber spell or trap card from my deck to my hand." Shin pulled a card from his deck into his hand. "Now with my second Normal Summon, I can summon my Cyber Dragon Drei (1800/800), and now his special effect activates! When he is summoned, all Cyber Dragons I control become Level 5!"

"Two level 5 monsters?" Amber asked, shocked.

"Wait, is Shin…" Naomi began to ask. Yuga only nodded at that, with a smile on his face. _That's it, Shin! Show them all what you've been practicing._

"I now use my Cyber Dragon Core and my Cyber Dragon Drei to overlay!" Shin declared, with both monsters becoming streaks of bright, golden light as they flew into a vortex. "Dragon of mechanical might, bathe in the marvels of science! Descend upon the battlefield and reveal your new power! Xyz Summon! Rank 5, Cyber Dragon Nova (2100/1600)!"

"I've never seen Shin use that monster before!" Asami gasped, looking at Cyber Dragon Nova with awe.

"His brother didn't use that monster either, right?" Ruka asked.

"No," Yuga said, smirking. "This just shows that Shin is going his own path, one that is different from his brother.

"I place one card facedown and end my turn," Shin declared.

"Then it's my turn!" Amber declared, drawing a card. "I summon my Jinzo – Jector to the field in attack mode (800/2000)!"

"Jinzo!" Shin gasped in shock.

"She plays a Jinzo deck?" Naomi asked, surprised.

"That isn't good news for Shin," Tamiko noted. "Jinzo and his entire archtype make trap cards useless."

"You got that right," Amber shouted. "Allow me to show you by activating the special effect of my Jinzo – Jector! By tributing him, I can add one Jinzo monster from my deck to my hand, and who better to add then the original Jinzo! Now, all set cards you control are revealed, and if they of them are trap cards, I get to special summon Jinzo monsters! So, let's see what your facedown is."

Shin grit his teeth, as the card on his duel pad slid out. He took it, holding it up to reveal it was Negate Attack. "I-it's a trap card."

"Clearly," Amber smiled, placing Jinzo on her duel pad. "So that means I get to special summon Jinzo from my hand (Jinzo: 2400/1500)! When he is on the field, all trap cards cannot be activated, and any previously activated trap card has its effects negated. Now, Jinzo, vaporize his Cyber Dragon Nova!" Jinzo charged up a blast and fired it at Cyber Dragon Nova.

Shin raced forward, and began hopping platforms, until grabbing an Action Card at the top of one of them. "Action Magic: Evasion! My monster dodges your monster's attack!" Shin jumped back on, panting at his short run.

Amber did not seem to mind this, as she smirked at the sight. "Your practically already worn out, and all you did was jump a few platforms. If that is your best, I am not amused. I place two cards facedown and end my turn."

"Uh, why did she set cards if Jinzo is on the field already?" Shin asked, confused. "I mean, she can't activate traps either, right?"

"Use your head, numb skull," Vince snapped, glaring at him. "In a duel, you always need to plan ahead. Those two cards are probably traps that she's ready to use in case you destroy Jinzo!"

"Don't be mean, Vince," Naomi growled, glaring at him.

"What?" Vince asked, looking at her. "He always says that he wants to improve and be a better duelist, but he doesn't even stop and think during a duel about what his opponent is doing."

"But-" Naomi was about to say.

"Vince is right," Shin muttered sadly, looking down at his duel pad. "Let's face it. I am not the smartest duelist, or the best at even playing my cards. Heck, I am still surprised I passed my exam to get into this school. I don't belong here."

"That's right, you don't," Amber declared, grinning.

"Yes, he does," Yuga suddenly said, stepping forward. Everyone's eyes turned to him, as he looked towards Shin and smiled. "You belong here just as much as we do, Shin. You're already showing vast improvement, and in the end that is all that matters here. I mean, just take a look at your Cyber Dragon Nova." Yuga looked up at the black, winged Cyber Dragon with pride. "That card alone shows that you got what it takes to be one of the best. So, don't give up! Show me, show us, how much you improved, Shin!"

Shin looked at Yuga in awe for a moment before he nodded, determination filling his face. "You're right, Yuga." Shin looked towards Amber, glaring. "I have improved, and now it is time to prove it! It's my turn, Amber!" Shin drew his card, looking at it for a moment before adding it to his hand. "Using my Cyber Dragon Nova, I construct the overlay network!"

"What?" Amber gasped, shocked. "But you can't overlay with an Xyz Monster, let alone only one monster."

"The monster I am summoning is what is known as an Xyz Evolution!" Shin declared, looking towards the vortex as Cyber Dragon Nova became a streak of light and flew into it. "Since he is evolved from Cyber Dragon Nova, I can use Cyber Dragon Nova as material, and any overlay units that was on Cyber Dragon Nova get carried over as well! Dragon of mechanical might, bathe in the marvels of science! Let your power extend to the edge of the universe! Rank Up, Xyz Evolution! Rank 6, Cyber Dragon Infinity (2100/1600)!"

Everyone looked in awe at Shin's new monster, as it roared mechanically and sent shockwaves across the battlefield. Shin was looking fierce under it, directly towards Amber, who looked stunned for a few moments but recovered quickly, her signature confident grin returning. "So what? He maybe one rank higher and have one more overlay unit, but he's got the exact same attack as your last monster! He's just as weak!"

"I wouldn't be so sure," Shin announced, holding his hand up. "Cyber Dragon Infinity gains 200 attack points for each overlay unit attacked to him (Cyber Dragon Infinity: 2100/1600 - 2700/1600)! That's not all thought, once per turn I can target one face-up Attack Position monster on the field and attach it to Cyber Dragon Infinity as material, including your monsters! I now attach Jinzo to Cyber Dragon Infinity (270/1600 - 2900/1600) Now, attack her life points directly!" Shin declared, pointing towards Amber.

"I activate the trap card, Scrap Iron Scarecrow!" Amber declared, revealing her trap card. "Your attack is negated, and I can just set this trap card again!"

"Cyber Dragon Infinity's effect activates," Shin announced immediately. "Once per turn, I can detach one overlay unit from Cyber Dragon Infinity to negate the activation of any card and destroy it (Cyber Dragon Infinity: 2900/1600 - 2700/1600)!" Scrap Iron Scarecrow was vaporized instantly on Amber's field.

Amber grit her teeth again, activating her second card. "Trap activate, Mirror Wall! Due to this trap card, I only take half of the damage from your attack!" Amber braced herself, as she was hit by the flames of Cyber Dragon Infinity's attack, screaming out in pain (Amber: 4000 - 2650).

"I end my turn," Shin declared.

"Mirror Wall… what a powerful trap card." Ruka said, staring at the card that was faceup on the field.

"But a costly one," Roku pointed out. "Mirror Wall takes 2000 life points from the user during their standby phase. Of course, they can choose not to pay this toll, and if they choose not to, it is destroyed. Knowing Amber, she will not pay the cost due to only having that card as a backup plan in case her Jinzo is destroyed."

Amber looked up at Cyber Dragon Infinity, thinking to herself. _Ok, so he can not only take my monsters and turn them into overlay units, but he can also stop my card effects… though each effect can only be used once, and he can only take my monsters on his turn…_ "It's my turn, I draw!" Amber announced, drawing a card and looking at it. "I choose not to pay for Mirror Wall, so it is destroyed!" Mirror Wall instantly vanished on her side of the field at that.

"I knew it," Roku stated.

"I activate the spell card, Monster Reborn!" Amber declared, activating the spell card. "And I will use it to revive my Jinzo – Jector!"

"That means she can just summon another Jinzo with Shin's trap card!" Naomi gasped.

"Not if I can help it," Shin declared. "I activate Cyber Dragon Infinity's effect! I'm sure you already know this, but once per turn, I can detach one overlay unit from Cyber Dragon Infinity to negate the activation of any card and destroy it (Cyber Dragon Infinity: 2700/1600 - 2500/1600)! How's that? You can't use Jector's effect this turn!"

"Don't be so sure," Amber suddenly said, smirking, shocking them all. "Who says that I only have one Jector in my deck?"

"So she…" Shin realized suddenly, gasping.

"Bated him," Vince pointed out. "By making him think that was her only Jector and that she was going to revive it, she tricked him into negating THAT effect instead."

"So now that you so kindly used up your little trick, I can summon my second Jinzo – Jector from my hand!" Amber announced, summoning the monster to her field. "And I am sure you remember his special effect; by tributing him, I can add one Jinzo monster from my deck to my hand, and all set cards you control are revealed. For every trap, I can summon one Jinzo per trap, but since you only have one card and we already know it's a trap, let's just skip the reveal and go right to the summoning, shall we? I summon the monster I added to my hand, my second Jinzo!"

"You're going to need to do better then that!" Shin pointed out. "My monster still has the higher attack value!"

Amber chucked at that. "Come on, do you think I am as dense as you? I now activate the effect of the card I drew this turn. He cannot be normal summoned or set; and can only be summoned by tributing one Jinzo I control to the graveyard. Come forth, my Jinzo – Lord (2600/1600)!"

"2600 attack?" Shin gasped.

"She can destroy Cyber Dragon Infinity this turn!" Naomi groaned in worry.

"I activate the final card in my hand," Amber declared, playing her card. "Phalanx Pike! By equipping it to a monster on my field, he gains 900 attack points for each monster in either of our graves that have the same name as him!"

"But you only have one Jinzo – Lord on the field," Tamiko shouted at her.

"Jinzo – Lord, as well as Jinzo – Jector, are both treated as 'Jinzo', so that is the name the spell takes into account," Amber declared, holding her hand forward. "Therefore, my Jinzo – Lord gains 3600 attack points (Jinzo – Lord: 2600/1600 - 6200/1600)!"

"6200 attack points!?" Everyone gasped.

Amber grinned maliciously at that. "Jinzo – Lord, attack his Cyber Dragon Infinity now!" Jinzo – Lord charged up a blast of energy in his hand, sending it flying towards Cyber Dragon Infinity. Shin started running up the monster towards a platform with a card on it just as the explosion connected.

"Shin!" Yuga and his friends shouted, all looking at the smoke with worried looks. Amber grinned at this, looking as Shin got thrown back, landing on the ground hard (Shin: 4000 - 300). The card that Shin was attempting to draw floated down, and Amber caught it with ease, looking at it before smirking a bit.

"This useless card wouldn't have helped you anyway," Amber declared. "It's over, Shin. Not a single monster in your deck can stand up to my superior Jinzo!"

Shin huffed and puffed on the ground, slowly standing up, before he suddenly smiled as he looked at Amber. "You think so? To be honest, I don't blame you for thinking that, as quite frankly, I think that I am done for… but I am not about to give up here!"

"Why not?" Amber asked, shocked at the sudden resolve Shin was showing. "You're only 300 life points away from defeat, your strongest monster is wiped out, and you're staring down a 6200-attack point behemoth! Did that fall damage your brain or something?"

Shin chucked at that, putting his fingers on his duel disk. "Maybe… though one would argue that it might also be that Yuga and my friends have begun to rub off on me a little… they don't give up, so I won't either! My turn, Amber!" Shin drew his card, looking at it before smirking at his opponent. "I activate the Cyber spell card I added at the beginning of the duel, Cyber Repair Plant! Since the Cyber Dragon Core I have in my graveyard is treated as a Cyber Dragon monster, I can add one Light Machine type from my deck to my hand!" Now, I activate the Spell Card in my hand, Pot of Greed, which let's me draw two cards!" _Please be the cards I need!_ Shin drew two cards, looking at them for a moment before smirking. "Alright, I activate the spell card, Power Bond!"

"P-Power Bond?" Amber gasped, looking shocked. "You have that powerful of a card in your deck!?"

Shin nodded. "Using Power Bond, I can fusion summon using monsters from my hand or field as materials. I send the three Cyber Dragon in my hand to the graveyard to fusion summon! Three machine dragons, combine to form an unstoppable mighty force! Fusion Summon! Level 10, Cyber End Dragon (4000/2800)! Power Bond's effect activates, any machine monster I fuse with this card has it's attack points double, but I take that damage at the end phase of my turn (Cyber End Dragon: 4000/2800 - 8000/2800)!"

"Alright, Shin has enough attack points to wipe out that Jinzo now!" Yuga cheered.

"Do the math," Vince pointed out, glaring at Yuga. "With his current attack power, he's only going to inflict 1800 life points of damage to her, bringing her down to 850 life points remaining. At the end phase of his turn, he'll take 4000 damage."

"Which means that Shin still won't win," Naomi sadly said.

Amber looked worried for a moment but started laughing when she realized the situation. "Go ahead and attack, you fool! I'll still win thanks to you taking damage to Power Bond!"

"I don't think so," Shin declared, holding up a card in his hand, which caused the smile on Amber's face to vanish instantly. "Or did you forget I still have one card left? I activate the spell card, Mage Power! With this, all spell and traps cards I control give my monster 500 attack points for each one, including Mage Power itself!"

"But you only have one spell card, and that is Mage Power!" Amber pointed out, her smile slightly returning.

Shin shook his hand. "I have a second card on the field, and you forget that Mage Power takes into effect trap cards as well. Did you forget, Amber? It's a trap that you benefited from twice!"

"What?" Amber looked confused and angry, but suddenly her eyes drifted towards the facedown Negate Attack on Shin's field, and her eyes widened in realization. _Of course, his Negate Attack trap card…_

"You didn't let me activate this card and took advantage of it for the entire duel to summon your Jinzo," Shin announced. "Now it is time for the card I set to aid me in defeating you, by fueling my dragon's power! Since I have Mage Power and my facedown trap card, my dragon gains 1000 attack points (Cyber End Dragon: 8000/2800 - 9000/2800)! Now, Cyber End Dragon, attack her Jinzo – Lord and the rest of her life points!" Cyber End Dragon launched three laser shots from each mouth, which began to swirl together like a drill, before slamming into Jinzo – Lord and vaporizing the monster. Amber screamed out, getting sent flying back as her monster was destroyed (Amber: 2650 - 0).

Shin Wins!

"Alright, Shin!" Yuga shouted, wrapping his arm around his friend and grinning.

"We knew you could do it!" Ruka cheered.

"Shin, you won!" Naomi shouted, hugging him tightly.

"Thanks, you guys," Shin blushed, returning Naomi's hug. "It was your encouragement that gave me the confidence to win."

"But you are the one who played the cards," Roku pointed out.

"I can't believe your deck has become that powerful," Asami said, her eyes a bit wide.

"Yeah, he was alright I guess," Vince muttered.

"I think what Vince means to say is that you were great," Tamiko giggled.

"We are proud of you, Shin," Naomi smiled warmly at him, the two duelists locking eyes for a moment.

"Oh, someone get me a barf bag," Amber groaned, walking away.

"Hey!" Naomi shouted after her.

"Let her go," Roku stated. "There are always going to be duelists like that, no matter what."

"So, how about that special training?" Yuga declared, grinning again at Shin.

"T-training?" Shin gasped, looking at Yuga in shock. "You nuts? After all that I think I need a break!"

"I guess some things don't change, huh?" Ruka laughed, joined by everyone else standing there, as they celebrated the victory Shin had that day, and being one step closer to the eight of them entering the tournament that Lennox had in store for them.

* * *

 **Footnote about Phalanx Pike: I am aware that in the OCG and TCG, Jinzo – Jector and Jinzo – Lord are not treated as Jinzo, nor would this be possible in those formats… but to make the duel more intense, I decided to write it as such.**

 **I really like the way I wrote in Mage Power here. From the beginning, I knew in the duel I wanted Shin to win by using that card in someway, but wasn't quite sure how to do it. That is when I actually rediscovered Mage Power, and was like "prefect!" If anything, that is my favorite thing in this chapter.**

 **As stated before,** **Since I had to pretty much force myself to write this chapter, it might not be that good, and my deepest apologizes if that is the case. You can call it filler if you want.**


	9. To Face the Darkness

**The writers block for this story has been unreal, hence why it took me... *looks at how long it's been since I published a chapter* TWO MONTHS!? Holy cow, does time fly, I seriously thought it was only a month since I last posted anything!**

 **Half of my issue is writers block, and the other half is lack of motivation from work draining my soul away. I've started looking for a new job but even that is proving to be fruitless. I think another issue is I don't have a beta reader for this story, which means i gotta do everything on my own, unlike pretty much every other fandom where I got a beta reader.**

 **So, I was thinking of continuing this trend of giving other characters the spotlight, but after finishing this chapter I realized it's very similar to Chapter 8 in terms of overall plot, so maybe it's about time we time skip to the start of this tournament? Let me know what you guys would rather have Chapter 10 be, a focused chapter on Naomi and/or Asami, or the beginning of the tournament.**

 **As always, thanks to king of the lion, pokemonking0924, Ethan Kironus, Draen and albeblazing19 for your reviews on Chapter 8. Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Nothing but darkness surrounded Roku as he walked, his eyes looking straight ahead despite it being pointless, as he couldn't see anything anyway. His hair grazed his shoulders with each step, his stride focused and unbreaking. Even when gray mist began to surround him, his stride didn't break once.

 _They're stronger then you._

 _They've become so much better at dueling._

 _You've become nothing compared to them._

"They have advanced so far," Roku admitted aloud, though his eyes did not waver, his focus unyielding. "Yuga, Vince, Ruka… even Shin has improved, but I am not out of it yet?"

 _Are you?_

 _What's to say you haven't fallen so far behind that you'll never catch up to them?_

 _Perhaps… dueling isn't for you after all._

"Dueling is my destiny," Roku declared, his eyes finally changing course, but to stare right at the mist that hovered around him. "I will prove it!"

 _Will you now?_ The mist all began to gather in a single place, and Roku finally stop walking, his eyes on the mist as it shaped itself into what looked like a version of him, though it wore a sinister grin and glowing red eyes. "Then prove it now… by dueling me!"

Roku duel pad appeared on his arm and activated, but what only seemed like moments past before he saw before his eyes his Noble Knight monster vanquished before his eyes by an unknown dragon like creature, and his life points deplete to zero. A chilling laugh filled the air as he felt himself falling, and falling, and-

Roku's eyes snapped open. He was lying on his bed in the apartment room that he occupied. A heavy sigh escaped him as he sat up, rubbing his eyes in a daze. "Dreaming," he mumbled, getting out of bed and stretching. The clock read 2 am, but Roku paid no attention to it as he crossed the room and over to the dresser, where his duel pad sat. A single message occupied his inbox, but Roku already knew what it said, as he had already seen it before. That didn't stop him from opening it again, revealing a dueling challenge from someone named 'Phantom'. Roku looked at it determined, his fists clenched as he stared down at the letter, his focus restored. He had to win tomorrow's duel, no matter what.

XxXxXxX

"Did you hear, Roku is going to duel that guy that keeps calling himself the Phantom?"

"The Phantom? Wasn't he that once great Freshman duelist that surrendered his true name during his junior year and started picking on the lower duelists in this school?"

"Yeah, rumor has it that he couldn't compete with the big-shot students of his year, so he started picking on the lower students to try and make himself feel better."

"How the mighty have fallen… for the once great Freshman Duelist to be challenged by that low life."

"I oughta slug them," Tamiko muttered, clenching her fist and preparing to march over to the senior students gossiping loudly over by the fountain, but she was stopped when Roku placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't," Roku muttered, looking deep into her eyes. "It's not worth it."

"Phantom, huh?" Yuga asked, stretching a bit and placing both of his hands behind his head. "Never heard of him, though seems like everyone else has."

"Well, that's because you're a hot shot, Yuga," Roku explained, looking at him. "He wouldn't go after someone like you."

"Why not?" Yuga asked, pouting. "I'll duel whoever!"

"You really don't listen, do you?" Vince sighed, shaking his head at Yuga.

"They say that the Phantom only duels those that he believes he can beat for sure," Naomi mentioned, looking around at the group. "Rumors tell that he was once top Freshman the year before we started at Union, but he was outclassed by his fellow students by the end of his first year. During his second year, unable to compete with the top students, he took to dueling other low ranking students, even the ones that were in other years. If the Phantom didn't challenge you, it meant that you were a good student. But if he did…"

"Then you were at the bottom of the barrel," Roku finished. "And he's challenged me. He believes that I am at the bottom of the barrel, and believes that he can win."

"So, show him wrong!" Tamiko snapped, glaring in anger at the whole situation. "You are the best in our year after all!"

"We're the best," Roku said, causing stunned silence from Tamiko. "I was surpassed by you guys a long time ago."

"So, you're just gonna give up?" Asami asked.

"No," Roku said, shaking his head. He looked down at his duel pad, thinking, "Just because you guys have surpassed me as duelists doesn't mean that I am giving up. It just means I have gotten a little lazy in my training, and a little too confident that I can stay on top. This to be is a test… If I can defeat Phantom, it will show that I still got it, and just need to work harder. If I can't…"

"Then what?" Shin asked, looking concerned.

"Well…" Roku paused, thinking. "I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Silence filled the air. No one knew what to say in this situation. Finally, it was Yuga who spoke.

"Who is Phantom anyway? Like, his real name?"

"That's the ironic part," Ruka stated, looking over at Yuga. "Not one of the students seem to remember his name, and the teachers just dismiss it, saying that he prefers to be called Phantom so that his real name is pointless to know."

"How the mighty have fallen," Vince admitted, shaking his head.

"Well, the students know who Roku is!" Tamiko stated, anger dripping from her words. "How dare this Phantom guy think they are on the same level! Roku is leagues above him, and I dare him to show up and challenge him to a duel!"

"That is what I did in the letter, you idiot."

Roku stood up, looking over at where the voice came from. From around the trees emerged a cloaked figure, only his mouth showing from under his black hood. He smirked viciously, almost like the same grin given by the Dark Roku in the nightmare from last night. Roku blinked, slightly intimidated, before shaking his head and stepping forward. "Phantom, before we duel I have to ask you something. What do you hope to gain from the duel?"

"A victory, what else?" Phantom asked, smirking more. "Isn't that what every duelist wants?"

Roku shook his head at that, "No, I mean what do you ACTUALLY hope to get from this duel? Why challenge someone like me, who is very similar to you? A once top dog student who has fallen a bit behind."

Phantom huffed at that, activating his duel pad. "You read too much into this, Roku. I simply challenged you because I am the punisher of the weak, and since you have become weak, I must defeat you as retribution!"

"What does he think he is, the Dark Knight?" Ruka asked. Roku shook his head, and activated his duel pad as well.

"Duel!"

Roku: 4000 vs Phantom: 4000

"I'll start," Roku said, looking at his hand. "I summon my Noble Knight Drystan in attack mode (1800/800)! Now I equip him with my Noble Arms – Gallatin spell card! He gains 1000 attack points, but from now on will lost 200 attack points for each of my standby phases (Drystan: 1800/800 - 2800/800). Furthermore, I equip him with my Magnum Shield spell card! Since he's in attack mode, he gains attack points equal to his defense points (Drystan: 2800/800 - 3600/800). I end my turn there."

"With 3600 attack points right off the bat, Roku has a huge lead over that guy," Ruka pointed out.

"Yeah but keep in mind that his monster will lose 200 attack points each standby phase before of the sword's effect," Naomi stated. "Roku needs to be careful.

"It's my turn now," Phantom muttered, drawing a card. "I'll activate the field spell card Ghostrick Mansion! Here's how it works, none of your monsters are able to attack any facedown defense position monsters I have, but if I only have face down defense position monsters, you are allowed to attack directly. In exchange for this drawback, all effect damage and battle damage inflicted by any monster that is not a Ghostrick monster is cut in half!"

"So, if that guy only sets a monster this turn, Roku can attack directly," Tamiko stated.

"And since it looks like he's running Ghostrick, that might be a possibility," Vince said.

"Ghostrick?" Shin asked, looking at everyone in confusion.

"They're a series of monsters that cannot be normal summoned unless another one of them are on the field," Yuga explained. "Not often played due to the learning curve behind them, but they are rewarding to masters of their playstyle."

"Now I set a monster in defense mode, and place a card facedown," Phantom said, setting two cards. "Your move."

"My turn then. And because of the effect of my Gallatin spell card, my monster losses 200 attack points (Drystan: 3600/800 - 3400/800)," Roku said, drawing a card and looking at it before analyzing the field. _If I attack, there is a strong chance my monster will end up either destroyed or immobilized by his facedown trap card. I have to play smart and figure out his plan._ "I end my turn there."

Phantom grinned suddenly and began to laugh as he drew his card. "Fool! You fell into my trap!"

"What?" Roku asked, stunned. "But how can you activate your trap card if I didn't attack you!?"

"I didn't have a trap card, you fool!" Phantom explained, pressing the duel pad to reveal his facedown card. "I baited you into not attacking! Activate spell card, Allure of Darkness! I drew two cards, and banish the dark attribute Kinka-Byo from my hand for the cost of the card."

 _He tricked me,_ Roku thought with grit teeth. _He made me think that his facedown was a trap so I couldn't attack, when in reality it was a quick play spell card._

"Now we can begin," Phantom said, licking his lips. "I flip summon my Ghostrick Witch into attack position (1200/200), and since I now have a Ghostrick monster faceup on my side of the field, I can normal summon my Ghostrick Nekomusume in attack mode (400/900)!"

"Both of them are Level 2, which means he might be going for a Rank 2 Xyz Summon!" Asami gasped.

"I activate the effect of my Ghostrick Witch," Phantom declared. "Once per turn, I can use her to change the position of one monster to control to face down defense! Because of that, your equip spells are sent to the grave!" Noble Knight Drystan suddenly disappeared into a sideways facedown card, and the two equip spells vanished. "I'm not done, now I play the spell card Nobleman of Crossout! This allows me to destroy your face down monster and instantly destroy it!" The facedown card was instantly vaporized, which made Roku's eyes go wide. Phantom wasn't done yet, however, as he took another card from his hand. "Now I activate the spell card Double Summon!"

 _Seems like everyone is copying me and has that in their deck now,_ Ruka thought.

"This allows me to summon two times this turn instead of just once," Phantom explained. "So I will use my second summon to bring forth my Ghostrick Doll (300/1200)! Now, I overlay my Level 2 Ghostrick Nekomusume and my Level 2 Ghostrick Doll! Tricker of the night, head my cry! Come forth, and let your laughter echo into the night! Xyz Summon! Rank 2, Ghostrick Socuteboss (1400/1200, OLU: 2)! Now, attack him directly my two Ghostrick monsters!" Both of the Ghostricks swirled around one another before each holding out their hand, firing a wave of energy forward, which slammed into Roku and sent him flying back, hitting the ground hard (Roku: 4000 - 1400).

"Roku, are you ok?" Tamiko shouted.

"I'm fine," Roku huffed, getting off the ground.

"Fine?" Phantom asked, looking at him quizzically. "You hardly look fine, in fact you look like you're about to lose in the next turn. Face it, Roku, you are not the duelist you once were before. Top of your year, and now look at you! A pathetic mess of your former self! You might as well save the embarrassment and surrender now!"

As Phantom's laugh echoed in his ears, Roku could almost imagine himself in the dark place he was in before during his dream, this time instead of mist Roku could see everyone he knew had their backs turned towards him, ignoring him. No longer did they want to look at him because of how weak he had become, how he used to be on top but now was nothing more than a mid-class duelist just hanging out with the big-league players like Yuga, Vince, Tamiko, and even his own sister. However, as he looked up, he could see them staring back at him now, the darkness fading as their smiles pierced him. Roku smiled back, and stood up tall, facing Phantom again. "You know, Phantom, we aren't much different."

"What did you say?" Phantom hissed, glaring at him.

"We both were students on top during our freshman years, who fell from grace during that time," Roku pointed out. "When you were a freshman, you were one of the best, but by your junior year you couldn't just complete in the big leagues anymore and got defeated by all the more powerful students. Eventually, you took up and alias of Phantom, and began picking on the small-time students to make yourself feel better."

"And your point is?" Phantom hissed in questioning.

"That I myself was thinking of just sticking to the lower tier students, just like you," Roku sighed, closing his eyes. "That I should just duel those below me… but that is not what a duelist does. A true duelist will strive to be the top, and never give up no matter what. A true duelist will continue to challenge those above him and get back up after every defeat. I will once day reclaim my top spot, Phantom, and if you think you are stronger then me… then it is all the more reason to defeat you, because that will mean I am one step closer! Get ready, Phantom!" Roku drew his card, looking at it for a moment before smirking. "I summon my Noble Knight Gwalchavad (1500/1800) and equip him with my Noble Arms – Caliburn, this gives him 500 attack points (Gwalchavad: 1500/1800 - 2000/1500)! But now I activate his special effect, by destroying one Noble Arms equip spell card, I can take a Noble Knights monster from my graveyard and add him to my hand, such as my Drystan!"

"What good will that do you?" Phantom asked.

"This," Roku said, pulling a spell card from his hand and activating it. "I activate the spell card Spell Reflection! With this, I can duplicate the effects of one spell card in your graveyard, such as the Double Summon spell card! Now, I can summon my Noble Knight Drystan (1800/800) back to the field in attack mode! Now, I overlay my Level 4 Gwalchavad and my Level 4 Drystan! Mighty king, draw your sword and storm into battle! Lead your troops to victory! Xyz Summon! Rank 4, Artorigus, King of the Noble Knights (2000/2000)!"

Phantom looked a bit worried, but suddenly smirked. "I'm not worried. What can he do? Sure, you can destroy one of my monsters, but the other will just be used next turn to eliminate you! You can't do anything!"

"Are you sure?" Roku asked, causing his opponent to looked panicked as he pulled the final card from his hand. "I activate my spell card, Dawn of Power! With this, I can take every equip spell card in my graveyard and attach it to my King!"

"Wait, what!?" Phantom asked, shocked.

"Behold, the true power of my deck!" Roku shouted, taking cards from his graveyard. "Noble Arms – Gallatin raises my monster's attack power by 1000 points (Artorigus: 2000/2000 - 3000/2000)! Magnum Shield takes my monster's defense and adds it to my monster's attack (Artorigus: 3000/2000 - 5000/2000)! Finally, Noble Arms – Caliburn increases my monser's attack by a further 500 points (Artorigus: 5000/2000 - 5500/2000)!"

"F-fifty five hundred!?" Phantom gasped, taking a few steps back.

"Even if Roku attacks his strongest monster, he'll do over 4000 points of damage and win the duel!" Tamiko gasped in awe.

"You pushed me beyond my limits, and for that I thank you," Roku said to Phantom, glowing with almost a golden glow from the effect of the Dawn of Power spell card. "Maybe you too can see what I saw. That a duelist must always strive for the top, even if the top is pushing them down. Now, Artorigus, attack his Ghostrick Socuteboss and wipe out his life points!" Artorigus roared, pulling the Magnum shield of his back and taking both Gallatin and Caliburn into his hands, and slashing at Socuteboss in an X shape, which vaporized her instantly (Phantom: 4000 - 0).

Roku Wins!

"Impossible," Phantom muttered, taking a knee. "It's impossible… I ran countless simulations, calculated my deck against yours at every possible angle. There's no way I could've lost, every time I ran my tests, they came out as me the winner."

"Tests and simulations don't tell the whole story, Phantom," Roku said, looking down at him. "Or should I say, Bobby."

That name caused Phantom to jerk his head up and look shocked, his blue eyes could finally be seen. "H-how did you know my real name?"

"I looked in a list of school records before our duel and noticed an inconsistency," Roku pointed out, taking a few steps forward so that he was standing above his former opponent. "A single student was hailed at the best student in his year, a student named Bobby Blackery. When I looked at our starting year, the year that he would be a Junior, he was gone from the list, and a guy named Phantom was a lower-mid ranking student, as if he had come out of nowhere and replaced Bobby. I put two and two together, and came to my hypothesis that Bobby became Phantom, in order to intimidate and punish those that he thought were weak, because he deemed himself as weak."

"Shut up," Bobby snapped, glaring at Roku. "You know nothing about me!"

"As I told you before, I was once in your place as well," Roku stated, kneeling down. "I once thought that I should just strive to defeat lower ranked duelists, but in the end I realized that doesn't make me a good duelist. A good duelist strives to be the best, to always be challenged by those higher ranking then him, and overcome those challenges by improving themselves." Roku then held out his hand towards Bobby, offering a sensere smile. "You got lost on your dueling path, but maybe it is not too late for you?"

Bobby flinched, but took Roku's hand, nodding. "Yeah…" He was helped off his feet and dusted off his cloak. "Alright… yeah, I'll aim to reclaim my place at the top! Thanks for accepting my challenge, and teaching me that I always should strive for greatness. Next time we duel, I'll no longer be Phantom, I'll be Bobby once again, and strive to defeat you because you are a greater duelist then me! Count on it!"

Roku nodded with a smile, "I will." Roku then turned to Yuga and smirked at him as well. "As for me, I am still striving to beat the new best in our year and reclaim my spot, and I hope he is ready for when I challenge him!"

Yuga grinned at that, "Of course! I am always ready to duel, Roku!"

* * *

 **Yes, before I get flooded with this in the reviews, I am aware I may have missed an effect with the Noble Arms cards where they can equip themselves onto another monster the second they go to the grave, but it allowed me to make a cool card (Dawn of Power is my own creation btw) so eh can't complain.** **Let's just call it an accidental plot point, shall we?**

 **I strive to have Chapter 10 out before mid-late July, so keep your eyes pealed. In the meantime, I got my other stories to attend to, and am actually thinking of writing a Naruto, Zoids and maybe a Kingdom Hearts fic in the future.**


	10. Tiebreaker

**I'm not even going to make excuses as to why this chapter took as long as it did to come out.** **Let's just say not only is my overall motivation for writing very low right now, but YuGiOh isn't exactly on the front of my mind... in fact Vrains has pretty much drained any and all love I have for the fandom, not that my love for YuGiOh was amazingly strong in the first place. But enough about my moping.**

 **Thanks to Draen, D3lph0xL0v3r, king of the lion, Ethan Kironus, and pokemonking0924 for reviewing Chapter 9... but please guys do check out my other stories if those are fandoms you are into. I tend to have better writing in those thanks to my beta reader.** **Speaking of, I do not have a beta reader for this story, and honestly that doesn't help much. Every other story I have a beta reader for (the same one in fact), but he isn't into YuGiOh so he refuses to touch this one. If you guys know of a good beta reader out there, let me know.**

 **That being said, enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

"All junior and senior students are to gather in the gym for the third period class time," the speaker system announced, echoing through the halls.

"Well, doesn't this seem familiar?" Naomi asked, with a sly grin, as the announcement continued to boom all around them.

"Well, it's been more then two months since this whole thing started," Asami muttered, looking slightly worried. "Maybe they finally chose the eight students… though I bet you anything I wasn't chosen. I struggled so hard…"

"You aren't the only one…" Naomi muttered back, a frown on her face. "I barely won most of my duels…"

"Let's not get too worked up about it," Ruka warmly said to them, placing her hands on both of their shoulders. "In the end, in or not, we're fighting this as a school."

"That's right!" Roku grinned, nodding in conformation. "Even if you two don't get chosen, those who do are still going to need your support."

"Let's save the mussy stuff for after," Vince grumbled. "When I'm not around."

"Aww, don't be like that, Vince," Yuga stated, grinning his signature grin. "All we're doing is trying to cheer our friends up! And besides, you don't want them upset either, right?"

"Especially Asami," Tamiko muttered, causing Vince to blush, Asami to look confused, and for everyone else to burst into laughter.

The eight of them sat down in the front row of the bleachers, where all of the juniors and seniors were gathered up to await whatever announcements were to come. They didn't have to wait long, however, as Principal Mondo soon approached the mike, and was greeted with awe induced silence due to him holding eight envelopes in his hand. "Students of Union Duel School. Two months ago, I called you all in here for an important announcement considering a Grand Tournament that would be taking place all throughout Fortune City; a competition that, per our esteemed Acting Mayor, would rival Battle City in scale and importance… and while I don't believe that is entirely the case, there will be no Egyptian Gods after all, I do feel that Union does have a lot to gain in this tournament… and a lot to lose as well.

"I therefore gave you all a task," Mondo continued, eyeing each of the students in turn as he spoke. "To compete against one another in an elimination. If you signed up, each and every duel you fought against another one signed up was monitored and scored based on your performance, and after two long months we finally have a significant point scoring to say these SIX students are the best of the best we have to offer." Murmurs of _SIX_ were spreading across the bleachers like wildfire, causing Mondo to have to raise his hand to silence the crowd. "I will be getting to that in a moment, but for now, I wish to invite the six chosen to receive the envelope I have here… though I ask that none of them open the envelope until they get into a private area, such as their dorms. Now, I call to the platform… Shin Kenyo!"

"M-Me!?" Shin gasped, standing and almost fumbling over in shock.

"Of course!" Yuga shouted amidst the applause all around them. "I knew you would be chosen buddy!"

Shin power walked to the front, where Mondo handed him his envelope and shook his hand before a blushing Shin returned to his seat, sweat pouring from his face.

"Roku Naigi," Mondo read again, and as confident as ever, Roku stood and began to walk to the stage to receive his envelope, this time the called individual hadn't rushed back to their seat so fast that the next name was said before he could return. "Tamiko Honda."

"I think they're getting angry that it's so far everyone in our friend circle," Ruka muttered to Yuga, who was also listening to the crowd among them begin to stur in fury.

"Ruka Naigi,"

"Well, you aren't helping much there," Yuga smirked, elbowing her a little.

"Very funny," Ruka stuck her tongue out at him as she left to take her letter.

"Y-you think they really are mad?" Shin asked, looking nervous still.

"Who cares?" Vince muttered, his arms crossed. "They're just jealous."

"Vince Koba,"

"And I'll give them more of a reason to be," Vince smirked, standing and walking confidentially up to the platform where Mondo was.

"And finally… Yuga Suzuki!"

"OH, come on!" A student called in rage. Sure enough, an uproar began from the students, who were all quickly attempted to be calmed down by the teachers, though most of them were silenced by the angry outburst. Finally, Hirose sighed, walked up to the mic, and got close enough that his breathing could be heard.

"Any student who continues their childish tantrums will be given 10 hours a day worth of homework for the ENTIRE. WINTER. BREAK!"

Silence came on the students almost as fast as one could blink. All the students immediately sat down and shut their months, their eyes still conveying anger but their mouths no longer expressing it.

"That's better…" Mondo chucked, sweat dropping as he watched Hirose walk away. "Now, you all might be confused as to why only six students are confirmed for this… well, that is because there is a four-way tie for seventh and eighth duelist slots, therefore we might have a tie breaker round to determine who will get the final two envelopes. Therefore, I ask Naomi Fujiwara, Asami Ikeda, Zane Watanabe and Jack Watanabe to come to the front."

"Better then not being chosen at all!" Yuga clapped. "Go get them girls!"

"Thanks, Yuga!" Naomi smiled, heading to the front with Asami. They were soon joined by the two best senior students, who both smirked confidently at the junior year girls. The brother on the left, Zane, wore a black leather jacket, ripped blue jeans and a black shirt underneath. He had blue hair spiked to the side, and green eyes. The second brother, jack, wore a black undershirt, white leather jacket and ripped jeans, with blonde spiked hair and blue eyes. Both wore leather boots, black in color, and had a duel disk of the opposite color of their jacket, white for Zane and black for Jack.

"Now, since there are four of you, we might have to do three rounds so we can determine…"

"Hold on Principal," Zane spoke, smirking. "I'd rather not knock my brother out on accident, and honestly I don't think either of these two girls can cut it in this competition."

"You what?" Asami growled, clenching her fists.

"I'm inclined to agree, brother," Jack smirked, crossing his arms. "Why not make it easy on all of us and have a single round, a duel with partners. If we win, we enter and get the envelopes. If you two win, you enter and get the envelopes… but you won't."

"Oh, is that so?" Naomi narrowed her eyes, angry at the lack of respect coming from her opponents. "Alright then, we accept."

Mondo looked between them all and sighed, stepping back with the microphone so that the platform he was standing on could become a dueling area. "Alright then… this will be an Tag Duel, you both will share 8000 life points, as well as the field. You are not allowed to initiate an attack until everyone has gone at least once. The first to get to 0 will lose as normal, agreed?"

"Agreed!" the four duelists shouted, getting into place and activating their duel pads.

"Then let's begin!"

"Duel!"

Naomi & Asami: 8000 vs Zane & Jack: 8000

"We'll take the liberty of the first move, ladies," Zane confidentially said, smirking as he looked at his hand of 5 cards. "I summon my Sylvan Flowerknight in attack mode (1800/1000)! Now, her special effect activates. I look at my top card in the deck, and if it's a plant type monster, I send it to the graveyard. If it is not, I send it to the bottom of my deck."

"Uh, why would he do that?" Shin asked.

"Because Sylvan monsters have a unique playstyle," Ruka explained, watching the field. "Some my view him sending monsters to the graveyard as a hinderance, but in return for sending monsters to his grave, the other effects of the monsters activate when they are excavated from the Deck and sent to the Graveyard."

"So, he gets to use their abilities when he does that?" Tamiko asked.

Ruka nodded, "They're a tricky deck to play against, much like my Aromages."

Zane looked at his pulled card and smirked again, "Well what do you know, it's my Sylvan Hermitree. I send him to the graveyard per the effect of my Sylvan Flowerknight. Next, my Sylvan Hermitree's special effect activates! Since I sent him to the graveyard from my deck, I can take a look at the top three cards of my deck and arrange them in any order I want!"

"Any order?" Yuga gasped, wide eyed.

"Which means he can choose which effect he wants to activate next turn if he desires," Ruka noted, looking worried.

Zane pulled the top three cards of his desk, arranged them with a confident grin, and placed them back into his deck. "I'll end my turn with a single card facedown."

"My turn then!" Naomi declared, drawing a card. "I activate the spell card Lunalight Fusion! With this, I can fuse together the Lunalight Blue Cat and the Lunalight Purple Butterfly in my hand! Blue cat that prowls through the darkness, butterfly with violet poison, spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come to be, beautiful beast that dances in the light of the moon! Lunalight Cat Dancer (2400/2000)! I place one card facedown and end my turn!"

"My turn," Jack said, drawing a card and briefly smirking at it. "I summon Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner (1000/1000)!"

"Lightsworn," Roku clenched his fist looking at the monster. "A dangerous enemy. Naomi and Asami are in for a fight here…"

"I next play the continuous spell card Lightsworn Sanctuary!" Jack declared, placing the card on the field. "And I end my turn, but not before Lumina had me send the top three cards of my desk to the graveyard."

"That is the price for playing such a powerful desk," Roku stated, narrowing his eyes. "However, it works to his advantage too."

"My turn then," Asami stated, drawing her card. "I play the field spell card Harpies' Hunting Ground, which grants all Winged Beast-Type Monsters 200 attack and defense points! In addition, whenever I normal or special summon a monster, I can destroy one spell or trap on the field!"

Zane smirked at that, "Is that all you got?"

It was Asami's turn to smirk confidently, however, "I summon my Harpie Lady 1 to the field (1300/1400 - 1500/1400), and her special effect grants all Wind monsters 300 attack points (Harpie Lady 1: 1500/1400 - 1800/1400), and since I summoned a Harpie, I can destroy your Lightsworn Sanctuary! Now I play the spell card Elgant Egotist, which automatically special summons a Harpie Lady when I have one on the field! Come forth, Harpie Lady 2 (1300/1400 - 1600/1400)! Now, since I summoned another Harpie, I can destroy that facedown card of yours as well!"

The facedown exploded, causing Zane and Jack to lose their smirks for the first time. "Oh man, that's both of our cards!"

Asami placed a card facedown on the field, "I place a card facedown and end my turn."

"This isn't over yet," Zane stated. "Don't forget I know exactly what I am going to draw next! I play the spell card Miracle Fertilizer, which allows me to special summon a monster from my graveyard! Come forth, Sylvan Hermitree (2700/1800)! Once per turn, he allows me to pull the top card of my desk, and like before, if it's a plant type monster, I send it to the graveyard. If it is not, I send it to the bottom of my deck. Unfortunately for you, since I had rearranged the top 3 cards of my deck beforehand, I already know what it is!" He drew the card and held it up for them to see. "I send Sylvan Marshalleaf to the graveyard, which means that I can destroy one monster I choose, and I decide to destroy Lunalight Cat Dancer!" The dancing monster exploded, causing Naomi and Asami to both flinch a bit.

"Now, I attack!" Zane declared. "Hermitree, destroy her Harpie Lady 1!"

"Not so fast!" Asami declared, activating her facedown. "You activated my Negate Attack! The battle phase immediately ends and my monster is not destroyed."

Zane huffed at that, "Lucky you."

"It's my move," Naomi stated, drawing a card. "I activate my facedown card, Call of the Haunted, which allows me to bring back one monster from the graveyard that I choose, and I choose Lunalight Cat Dancer!"

"Really?" Jack shook his head. "We already destroyed that monster once, and we will do it again!"

"I don't think so!" Naomi declared, playing a spell card. "I use the spell card Polymerization, to fuse together my Lunalight Cat Dancer with my Lunalight White Rabbit! The beautiful beast dancing in the moonlight, the lively white rabbit illuminated by the moonlight, spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come to be, elegant beast dancing in the moonlit wilderness, Lunalight Panther Dancer (2800/2500)!"

"Awesome, with that Naomi has enough attack power to take down that overgrown tree!" Tamiko cheered.

"Lunalight Panther Dancer, attack his Sulvan Hermitree!" Naomi ordered, causing Panther Dancer to dash forward and slash the tree apart (Zane and Jack: 8000 - 7900). "I end my turn."

"Wait, why didn't she attack one of the weaker monsters?" Shin asked, confused.

"Because that tree could be used to keep pulling cards from his desk with it's special effect, while the other Sylvan monster only can do it when they are normal summoned," Ruka explained. "So Naomi thought it was best to take out the tree so he cannot activate the effect constantly."

Mericle Fertilizer exploded as well, as the monster that it was supporting was gone. To their surprise, however, Zane was smirking and looking at his brother. "Alright, it's your turn, bro!"

Jack nodded, drawing a card and immediately discarding it to the grave. "By discarding one card from my hand, I can activate Lumina's special effect and summon one level 4 or lower Lightsworn monster to my field! Come forth, Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior (1850/1300)! Garoth, attack her Haprie Lady 1!" The Harpie Lady didn't stand a chance and was instantly taken out by the axe like weapon the warrior wielded (Naomi and Asami: 8000 - 7950). "With that, your monsters are weakened due to no longer having Haprie Lady 1's effect (Harpie Lady 2: 1800/1400 - 1500/1400). I end my turn with a face down, however I discard three cards from my desk to the grave due to Lumina's effect… however, Garoth's effect now activates! Whenever I send card(s) from my desk to the graveyard by a Lightsworn monster effect, I send the top two cards from my desk to the grave, and draw a card for each Lightsworn monster I send this way… lucky for me, I send two, so I draw two cards!"

"He's gonna deck out if he isn't careful!" Tamiko noted.

"No," Roku shook his head, looking grim. "He knows what he is doing. I've seen him play before."

"My turn!" Asami declared, drawing a card. "I summon my Harpie Queen (1900/1200 - 2100/1200)! Next, I play the magic card Hysteric Sign, allowing me to add one Elgant Egotist from my deck to my hand, then I activate it, allowing me to special summon Harpie Lady 3 to the field! Next, I overlay my Level 4 Harpie Queen, Level 4 Harpie Lady 2 and Level 4 Haprie Lady 3! Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 4, Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon (2000/2500, 3 OLU)!"

"Um, wasn't she better off keeping Harpie Queen?" Shin asked.

"Do you think at all?" Vince scorned him, shaking his head. "Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon can make a direct attack as long as she has overlay units attached to him. Due to this, she can take away 2000 life points over the next three turns, which might be enough to win them the duel!"

"Might be," Roku noted, staring at the field. _They don't know what the Lightsworn deck can really do._

"Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon, direct attack!" Asami declared, the dragon breathing in fire and roasting them, causing them to yell in pain (Zane and Jack: 7900 - 5900). "At the end of my turn, one overlay unit is detached from my dragon (Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon: 3 OLU - 2 OLU)."

"Alright then, it's my turn!" Zane declared, drawing his card. "I play the magic card Miracle Growth Formula, which increases the level of any monster on the field that is plant type by three, and I choose my Sylvan Flowerknight, changing her level from 4 to 7!"

"Uh oh, that can only mean he's planning on summoning something!" Ruka gasped.

"Next I summon my Copy Plant (0/0)," Zane stated, playing his monster. "Copy Plant takes the level of one plant type monster on my fiend and mimics it, and thus he becomes a Level 7! Now, I overlay my Level 7 Sylvan Flowerknight and my Level 7 Copy Plant! Xyz Summon! Come to me, Rank 7, Orea, the Sylvan High Arbiter (2800/2500, 2 OLU)! Once per turn, by sending one plant type monster from my hand to the graveyard, I can arrange the top cards of my desk to any order I choose, the number of cards I can arrange equal to my monster's level. I send the Level 2 Sylvan Komushroomo to rearrange the top two cards of my deck." He took the cards out, but only smiled at he put them back in the order they were. "They're fine how they are… now, since I sent Komushroomo to my graveyard from the deck via a Sylvan's effect, I can destroy one card on your side of the field, and I choose Harpies' Hunting Ground! That's not all, Orea, destroy her Harpie's Pet Phantasmal dragon!" Orea breathed in and unleashed a gust storm and vaporized Asami's monster (Naomi and Asami: 7950 - 7150). I'll end my turn with a card facedown."

"Alright, I go next." Naomi stated, drawing a card. "I play Pot of Greed, which let's me draw twice. Next, I play the spell card Lunalight Fusion! This allows me to fuse together the Lunalight Panther Dancer on my field with the Lunalight Black Sheep and Lunalight Crimson Fox in my hand! Fusion Summon! Come to be, Lunalight Leo Dancer (3500/3000)! Lunalight Leo Dancer can make two attacks during the same battle phase! Lunalight Leo Dancer, attack their Orea and Lumina!"

"Not so fast!" Zane declared, revealing his face down card. "I activate my own Negate Attack, ending your battle phase."

Naomi grit her teeth for a moment, "I end my turn!"

"That's all you can do, now watch this," Jack said, drawing a card and grinning. "Brother, it is time!"

"Our two most powerful monsters will destroy you!" Zane stated, pointing at them.

"I activate the spell card Beacon of Light's Hope!" Jack declared, playing the card. "My discarding two cards, this card allows me to turn any Light attribute monster I choose into a tuner monster, and I choose my Level 4 Garoth! In addition, this card negates the effects of all monsters present on the field, without targeting them!"

"That means…" Asami's eyes went wide.

"Lunalight Leo Dancer normally cannot be targeted by opponent's card effects, but that card can negate that effect without directly targeting the monster," Naomi said, clenching her fists.

Jack held out his hand, "Now, I tune my Level 4 Garoth to my Level 3 Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner Synchro Summon! Level 7, Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn (2600/2000)! Now I activate the special effect of my Arch-Lightsworn! By paying 1000 life points (Zane and Jack: 5900 - 4900), I can banish one card on the field, and I choose Lunalight Leo Dancer!" The monster vanished instantly, causing Naomi to gasp. "Next, I activate his secondary special effect, allowing me to shuffle any number of Lightsworn monsters that I choose into my deck, and restoring 300 life points for each one. I have 7, so we regain 2100 life points (Zane and Jack: 4900 - 6900)!"

"Wait, seven!?" Shin asked, confused. "But I thought the only Lightsworn in his graveyard was Garoth!"

"That you saw," Roku corrected. "He sent several other cards to his graveyard thanks to Lumina's effect, and most of them must have been monsters."

"Now I place two cards facedown and activate the spell card Mage Power!" Jack declared. "With this, my monster gains 500 attack points for every spell and trap card we have on the field, and I count three (Arch-Lightsworn: 2600/2000 - 4100/2000). Now, Arch-Lightsworn and Orea, attack them directly!" Both monsters sent beams of light and gusts of wind at the girls, who shrieked and were damaged, each one of them falling to their knees (Naomi and Asami: 7150 - 250).

"Only 250 life points left," Zane taunted, shaking his head. "As I said before, I don't think either of you two girls can cut it in this competition."

"And we have proven that in our duel," Jack declared. "I end my turn and discard three cards due to my Arch-Lightsworn's effect."

Asami began to get up, panting to herself. "W-well… this is quite a predicament we're in, huh?"

"Y-yeah," Naomi panted, looking grim as well. "Y-you got any bright ideas?"

"Just one," Asami said, placing her fingers on her deck. "And that's if I am lucky enough to draw it."

"Go for it," Naomi nodded, grinning.

"Alright, here I go!" Asami declared, drawing a card. "I activate Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards!" Asami had her eyes tightly shut for a brief moment, but when she opened them her eyes lit up with glee. "Alright, I play the spell card D.D.R – Different Dimension Reincarnation! By discarding one card, I can summon back a banished monster, so come back Naomi's Linalight Leo Dancer (3500/3000)!"

"Excellent, now they have a fighting chance!" Shin cheered. "Since Lunalight Leo Dancer can attack twice in one battle phase!"

"But that still won't be enough, cause that Lightsworn monster has 4100 attack points total," Yuga stated.

"I'm not done," Asami declared, grinning.

"But you have no more cards in your hand!" Zane and Jack declared at the same time.

Asami smirked at that, "True, but who said it is in my hand? The card I discarded for D.D.R's effect is called Final Desperate Call, and I activate it's effect now! Whenever it is discarded as the final card in my hand, I can draw one final card from my deck and play it."

"Here we go…" Ruka whispered, on the edge of her seat.

"If this card isn't the one…" Tamiko muttered, chewing on her fingers.

"Then they lose the duel," Vince bluntly said, though even he looked nervous.

"Come on girls!" Yuga cheered.

Naomi and Asami looked at one another and nodded. Asami looked down at her deck, slowly pulling the card out, everyone watching her with held breaths. Asami looked at the card, before looking up at her opponents, breaking out into a smile. "The card I drew… is the spell card Megamorph!"

"NO way!" Zane shouted.

"Talk about luck of the draw!" Jack declared, stepping back a bit in shock.

Asami held up the card and activated it on her duel pad, causing Lunalight Leo Dancer to grow in size. "Megamorph causes my monster's attack to double as long as my life points are lower then yours! And with you guys having 7600 life points to our 250, I say that qualifies (Lunalight Leo Dancer: 3500/3000 - 7000/3000)! Now, Lunalight Leo Dancer, attack both of their monsters!" Lunalight Leo Dancer charged, and slashed both of the monsters at the same time, causing them to explode in a sea of dust. Everyone held their breaths again as the dust lingered, but when it cleared both Zane and Jack were on the ground, each one of them defeated (Zane and Jack: 6900 - 0).

Naomi and Asami Win!

"And with that, the duel is complete!" Mondo declared, holding his hand out towards Naomi and Asami. "Your winners, and seventh and eighth reps for this school… Naomi Fujiwara and Asami Ikeda!"

Yuga and his friends stood up, clapping loudly. It took a few moments, but slowly one by one the other students of the school began to stand up and clap as well, the duel moving them enough for their anger to dissipate, accepting not only Naomi Fujiwara and Asami Ikeda as their reps, but the other friends in the same circle as well. Naomi and Asami grinned and waved at the crowd, happiness radiating off them.

XxXxXxX

"Alright, here we go," Yuga declared, holding his letter in his hand.

"This is it," Shin gulped, his hands trembling at the letter he held.

"It's not gonna explode or anything you idiot," Vince glared, though he too looked back at his letter with a worried expression.

"There's no use waiting around," Roku said, tearing his letter open. "Let's do it."

Yuga and the others nodded, one by one opening their letters as well. Yuga looked at the parchment, a nice tone and texture to it as if made of the finest tree just for the rich. He looked at the seal of Lennox on the back for a moment before flipping it over and beginning to read.

 _ **Duelist,**_

 _ **If you are reading this, you have been chosen as one of the eight representatives of your school, and I congratulate you. Enclosed in this envelope, along with this letter, you will find a single, clear card with my seal printed on it. These cards are one of a kind, and only a certain number of them exist. They were specially printed for this tournament and will be what you are gambling on in this competition.**_

 _ **For a student to make it to the finals, which the location of will be revealed to any student who qualifies, a student needs to gather 10 of these cards in order to qualify for the finals. No student is to just exchange a card for a different prize, nor can a student give a card to another. Each card has a special chip that will be registered to you the day of the tournament's beginning, and only one student per card will be accepted. By betting your cards against one another in duels, the winner will walk away with all cards bet in a winner takes all type of battle, with the card chip automatically being overwritten once a duel has been won. After obtaining the 10 cards, you will obtain the location of the finals. Of course, just having the 10 cards is not enough, as you must keep the ten cards until you have obtained and made it to the final area. Only then can cards no longer be gambled and your entry into the finals guarantied.**_

 _ **Much like Battle City before it, my tournament will have the entire city be a battle field. You can be challenged at any time, anywhere, so long as you have a single card remaining on you. Few safe areas exist, such as your school dorms, but to win you must venture out to collect the cards. Any student found loitering in a safe zone for too long will be forced to surrender their card, and it will become a "free card" that any student can grab, as long as they can find the location of it.**_

 _ **May you ready yourself, and the best of luck to all.**_

 _ **Mayor Lennox**_


End file.
